Trump tried to deport five Venezuelans under the Foreign Enemies Act of 1789, the court stopped it

A US federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's deportation of five Venezuelans under the 1798 Foreign Enemies Act. Foreign Enemies Act, reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.

The law, which has only been used in times of war, could allow the president to bypass the due process rights of migrants who are considered sources of threats and expedite their deportation.

Trump said that the Foreign Enemies Act would be used to combat cartels and foreign criminal gangs "operating in major American cities".

Last month, the US declared the criminal group "Tren de Aragua", the "Sinaloa" cartel and other drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

On Saturday, Trump ordered the expulsion of five alleged members of the "Tren de Aragua", citing the Foreign Enemies Act. Trump said the United States was facing a "predatory invasion" of a criminal organization involved in kidnappings, extortion, organized crime and contract killings.

A few hours later, Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary order blocking deportations for 14 days. The judge said the terms "invasion" and "predatory invasion" used in the law in question refer to "hostile acts committed by a state that are commensurate with war". The law requires a formal declaration of war to be enforced.

The Alien Enemies Act was used to justify the internment camps of Japanese, German and Italian people during World War II.

"This order is as unlawful as anything the Trump administration has done", Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, told Reuters in an interview. "We are in a very dangerous moment when the government is trying to use military powers in peacetime for immigration and other non-military purposes", Gelernt added.

Meanwhile, it became clear that the US government had reached an agreement with El Salvador to pay $6 million for the detention of about 300 alleged members of the "Tren de Aragua", the AP added. The agreement stipulates that the detainees will remain in a Salvadoran prison for a year while the United States decides their fate. The agreement was signed after negotiations between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.