Trump officials said the deportations don’t violate a judge’s order barring use of the Alien Enemies Act for removals -- but also questioned the order’s validity.

The White House is denying that it violated a judge’s order Saturday to halt the deportations of Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, which, if it did occur, would take legal showdowns over the administration’s claims of vast presidential power closer to the edge of a constitutional crisis.

Administration officials said they expect the fight over using the wartime act to ultimately head to the Supreme Court.