Tren de Aragua

The government sent several planeloads of alleged gang members to El Salvador, including 137 people under the act, the White House said at the time. The judge gave the U.S. until April 23 to respond.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel denied the Trump administration's push to restart deportations of alleged gang members under a rarely used wartime authority known as the Alien Enemies Act.

The fight over the rarely used wartime power has become central to Trump's immigration crackdown agenda and his efforts to stretch the powers of the executive branch.

Judge James Boasberg had earlier asked the Trump administration to provide more details about weekend flights that deported hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador — despite his order to turn the planes around.

The Justice Department is fighting not to divulge more information about flights that deported alleged gang members to El Salvador. The federal judge is giving lawyers another day to respond.

At issue was whether planeloads of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang were deported despite the judge's order to turn the planes around.

The Trump administration has invoked a 227-year-old law, the Alien Enemies Act, to target Tren de Aragua, a gang with its roots in the prisons of Venezuela. Who are they and how wide is their reach?