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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Deportations under wartime law

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States v. J.G.G.

Granted
No. 24A931Vacatur applicationFiled by the federal governmentPresented to The Chief JusticeFrom United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court granted the request on April 7, 2025 and wiped out (vacated) the lower-court order it challenged.

Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case. Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, Justice Jackson, and Justice Barrett would have ruled the other way.

Filed Ruled 10 days after filing

What's being asked

The federal government asks the Supreme Court to vacate (wipe out) the district court's temporary orders blocking removals under the Alien Enemies Act. Five detainees challenge President Trump's proclamation invoking that law to detain and remove Venezuelans the government says are Tren de Aragua members.

What the Court did

The Court gave the federal government emergency help and vacated (wiped out) the district court's temporary orders blocking removals and their extension. The Court did not decide whether removal was lawful. It said detainees must file habeas petitions (prisoners' challenges to being locked up) in the federal district where they are held, in Texas. Justice Kavanaugh concurred (agreed with the result for different reasons); Justice Jackson dissented (disagreed); no full vote count was published.

  • Concurred in a separate opinion
  • Dissented
  • Wrote separately
  • Vote not published
Concurring · 1agreed with the result, wrote separately
  1. Kavanaughwrote a concurrence
Dissenting · 1recorded against the Court's order
  1. Jacksonwrote a dissent
Vote not published · 7the order does not say how they voted
  1. Roberts
  2. Thomas
  3. Alito
  4. Sotomayor
  5. Kagan
  6. Gorsuch
  7. Barrett
The order records the positions of 2 of 9 justices. The Court usually does not say how each justice voted on an emergency application, so the rest are shown as not published.
Half of 82 rulings on applications where the Court asked for a response came 10 to 26 days after filing, and the median was 17 days; this one was ruled on 10 days after filing.

What it means

This temporary ruling does not decide who wins or whether the detainees may be removed. The Court said challenges must be brought in the federal district where detainees are held, in Texas, rather than the District of Columbia. The docket lists no related Supreme Court case or argument.

Separate writings

  • Justice Kavanaugh concurring

    Read (PDF)

  • Justice Jackson dissenting

    Read (PDF)

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 24A931. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 4, 2026