Trump's Alien Enemies Act Power: Dershowitz & Mystal on Supreme Court Ruling

Executive Authority and the Supreme Court

• 🎯 The strategy behind challenging executive actions is to create an issue of executive authority versus the courts, aiming to reach the Supreme Court.
• 💡 This strategy is not solely about specific issues like migrant flights but about establishing a broader principle of who decides how the president exercises discretion.
• 🔑 The core question is whether the court can dictate the president's definitions of concepts like "invasion" or "state secret," with Trump asserting the executive's sole right to decide.

The Alien Enemies Act and Due Process

• ⚖️ Alan Dershowitz predicts the Supreme Court will likely affirm Trump's right to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
• ⚠️ However, Dershowitz also anticipates the court will insist that deportations must occur with due process.
• ⚡ This suggests a potential split ruling: Trump winning on substantive issues of power but losing on procedural due process.

Judicial Posture and Constitutional Conflict

• 🧐 Elie Mystal suggests Chief Justice Roberts may avoid direct confrontation with Trump on issues where the president has "full physical control," like immigration enforcement.
• 🏛️ Mystal argues that defying lower court orders, not just Supreme Court orders, constitutes a constitutional crisis.
• 🤝 Dershowitz counters that such situations represent constitutional conflicts, not crises, and that the system of checks and balances is designed to resolve them without breakdown.

The Role of Due Process

• 📜 Mystal emphasizes that due process is crucial because it requires the government to present evidence and prove its case in court, rather than relying solely on a president's assertion.
• 🧱 Dershowitz highlights Felix Frankfurter's view that "the history of liberty is largely a history of procedures," underscoring the importance of due process.
• 🚀 Both legal minds agree that while the president may have broad definitional powers, these are subject to due process.