On Thursday evening, lawyers helping Venezuelan immigrants most at risk of being removed under an 18th-century wartime powers act received an ominous alert: U.S. immigration officials were handing out notices at a detention facility in Texas, informing migrants that they were considered enemies under the law and would be removed from the country. “I am a law enforcement officer authorized to apprehend, restrain and remove alien enemies,” read the notice, a copy of which was filed in federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union. “Accordingly, under the Alien Enemies Act, you have been determined to be an alien enemy subject to apprehension, restraint and removal from the United States.” The notice said the migrant could make a phone call but did not specify to whom. The single-page notice also did not mention any way to appeal the order. The Supreme Court ruled this month that muzzling and arresting immigrants is unconstitutional. Under the Constitution's immigration clause, the court said in the 5-4 ruling, states may not deport migrants who are not suspected of violating the immigration laws. “We disagree with the lower court's reasoning in this case because we disagree with the logic of this action.” In the court's decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, "We disagree with the lower court's reasoning in this case because we disagree with the logic of this action." The case, a U.S. case brought by igrants must receive advance notice that they are subject to removal under the rarely invoked wartime powers law — and that they must have an opportunity to challenge their removal in court. The UK government said it would provide free legal advice to all individuals applying for resettlement — though its initial guidance only offered guidance on who would receive it and how much it would cost. A total of 2,000 people are awaiting resettlement in the UK each year, according to UNHCR. Most are Afghans fleeing the civil war in their homeland. The move comes amid heightened tensions in the region between Russia and NATO-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and its Sunni allies. Russia and Syria's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Syrian troops are on the brink of launching a military attack on Aleppo, a city that has been under government siege since July 2011. Moscow has long supported Assad and says the Syrian government is using chemical weapons, but is reluctant to risk escalating the conflict by attacking the Russian-backed opposition.
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