Summary
First, it acted with startling speedāso quickly, in fact, that it published the order before Alito could finish writing his dissent; he was forced to note only that a āstatementā would āfollow.ā
Relatedly, awkward phrasing in courtās order may imply that Alitoāwho first received the plaintiffsā requestāfailed to refer it to the full court, as is custom, compelling the other justices to rip the case away from him.
Second, it is plain as day that the Supreme Court simply did not trust the Trump administrationās claims that it would not deport migrants over the weekend without due process.
Finally, and perhaps most obviously, itās critical that only Thomas and Alito noted their dissents. When the court takes emergency action, justices donāt have to note their votes, but they usually do; we can probably assume that this order was 7ā2. That would mean that Chief Justice John Robertsāalong Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrettājoined this rebuke to the Trump administration.
This is a good point you raise. Even so, this works in the peopleās favor.
Having the branches of government fight amongst themselves is kinda the idea.
Itās when they all fall in line behind one man that you get 1930s Germany.
Would I prefer they fight over how best to improve life for all of us and not how best to oppress people? Sure. But weāre talking choosing between lesser evils here.
I always look to what people actually do, not what they describe as their reasons. It doesnāt matter if you do the right thing for the wrong reasons, as long as you do the right thing. We have so much disengenuousness these days, look to their actions, not their words.