The court fight focuses on the Trump administration's use of a 1798 law to deport people it claims are part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

In 1798, with the U.S. preparing for what it believed would be a war with France, Congress passed a series of laws that increased the federal government’s reach. The Alien Enemies Act was created to give the president wide powers to imprison and deport noncitizens in time of war.

In a 226-year span, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 had been invoked only three times — until now. President Donald Trump fulfilled a campaign promise to use the wartime act as a shortcut to deport suspected members of a Venezuelan gang, according to an executive order signed March 15.