The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members,

Hundreds of mostly Venezuelan alleged gang members were deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador on Sunday, with the Trump administration invoking wartime powers to speed up removals despite a court ruling halting the move.

The Trump administration said it arrested and expelled hundreds of alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador for imprisonment, even as a federal judge ordered a halt to some deportations.

President Donald Trump on Saturday invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II, granting himself sweeping powers under a centuries-old law to deport people associated with a Venezuelan gang.

The news that hundreds of migrants were headed to an El Salvador prison caused panic for some Venezuelans, who worried that their loved ones might be among them.

The Maduro regime warns it could stop accepting returning migrants after the White House canceled Chevron’s oil-pumping license there.

On the campaign trail, Trump stated his intention to restore the travel ban which caught much attention in 2017.