The White House has denied an accusation from human rights groups that it violated due process by defying a judge's order while carrying out weekend deportations.
A group of 238 suspected Venezuelan gang members, plus 23 suspected members of the international MS-13 gang, were sent from the U.S. to a prison in El Salvador. Some were deported under a law that had not been used since World War II.
The move came despite a temporary injunction issued by a judge. The White House said the judge's order itself was not legal and was issued after the group was deported.
Neither the US nor El Salvadoran governments have identified the detainees and have not provided details of their alleged criminality or gang membership.
Announcing the measure on Saturday, a day after signing it, Trump accused the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang of "committing, attempting, and threatening a predatory invasion or incursion against the territory of the United States."
He cited the Alien Enemies Act, a piece of legislation dating back to 1798 that was designed to be used in times of war or invasion. Activists have questioned Trump's justification.
The act was used to process 137 of the 261 people who were deported, the White House said Monday. The basis on which the other deportees were removed from the U.S. remains unclear, and details of the group as a whole have not been released.
Several relatives of the men believed to have been among the group told the New York Times that their loved ones had no gang ties.
The White House, for its part, has insisted that authorities are "confident" that those arrested were gang members, based on intelligence.
The case raises constitutional questions because, under the US system of checks and balances, government agencies are expected to respect the decision of a federal judge. (A2 Televizion)
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