Trump has claimed Venezuelan nationals he deported had ties to the criminal gang Tren de Aragua. /BBC/AGENCY
A US federal judge has refused to lift a temporary restraining order blocking the deportation of Venezuelan migrants under President Donald Trump's invocation of wartime powers.
On March 15, Trump deported 238 alleged Venezuelan gang members to a mega-prison in El Salvador, citing the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, last used during World War II.
Judge James Boasberg ruled on Monday that many of those deported dispute their gang affiliation and must be allowed to challenge their removal.
The ruling comes ahead of a Monday afternoon appeals court hearing, where the administration will seek to overturn Boasberg's original March 15 restraining order.
Trump proclaimed on 15 March that members of the Venezuelan crime gang Tren de Aragua were "conducting irregular warfare" against the US, justifying their deportation under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
But later that evening, Judge Boasberg issued a 14-day halt to deportations under the proclamation, verbally ordering the government to turn flights around. The White House insisted it was too late, as the planes were already in international airspace.
The Trump administration maintains the men were "carefully vetted" and verified as gang members before being flown to El Salvador.
But some of their family members have disputed that allegation, and US officials have acknowledged "many" of the men have no US criminal record.
On Monday, Judge Boasberg noted: "Because the named Plaintiffs dispute that they are members of Tren de Aragua, they may not be deported until a court has been able to decide the merits of their challenge."
The judge noted the Trump administration was still free to deport Venezuelans through regular immigration process.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has appealed against Judge Boasberg's 15 March restraining order to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking not only to lift the ban but also to have the judge removed from the case.
The deportations have created tension between the White House and Judge Boasberg, who said on Friday that he had never heard lawyers for the government speak to him the way the Trump administration attorneys had.
"I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my order, who ordered this and what the consequences will be," the judge said at a hearing last Friday.
Trump has described Boasberg as a "constitutional disaster" who "doesn't mind if criminals come into our country".
The Alien Enemies Act grants the president sweeping powers to quickly deport citizens of an "enemy" nation.
The deportations have been criticised by human rights groups, which have argued the move is illegal because the US is not at war.
Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the government's use of the war-time law to ship the Venezuelan nations to El Salvador.
"It's modern-day warfare, and we are going to continue to fight that and protect American citizens every single step of the way," Bondi told Fox News.
Venezuela's interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, said last week that none of the people deported to El Salvador were members of the gang; some relatives of the Venezuelan nationals have agreed.
