The Trump administration’s removal of more than 130 Venezuelans amid a court battle to block their deportation has ignited alarm it may have violated a court order barring its use of the Alien Enemies Act.

President Trump on Saturday signed an order igniting the 1798 law and invoking war powers to remove any Venezuelan national believed to be a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Hours later, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered flights carrying the Venezuelans to a Salvadoran prison to turn around — a directive he gave verbally in a court hearing as well as in a written order after it closed.

Nonetheless, the administration continued with two flights — sparking questions from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that said despite some disagreement over the timing of the flights the Venezuelans had not yet been released from American custody at the time Boasberg’s order was issued, and therefore should have been returned to the country.

After a Monday full of White House aides blasting Boasberg and diminishing his authority, a Justice Department lawyer refused to answer questions about the flights, a remarkable confrontation in which the attorney asserted that the administration complied with the judge’s written order but declined to provide any evidence.

“The Trump talking point about this has been no court order was violated because the judge has no jurisdiction to tell the president what to do when it comes to matters under his commander in chief powers. It's just not true. The court has the power to interpret the law, and so this violation of a court order, I think, is very alarming to people,” said Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney who now teaches law at the University........

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