Venezuelan gang members were deported from the U.S. under the Trump administration amid a judge issuing a court order against it. NBC News' Danny Cevallos breaks down the legality of the deportations used with the Alien Enemies Act.

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed to halt deportations under a rarely-used 18th century wartime law invoked by President Donald Trump asked a federal judge Monday to force officials to explain under oath whether they violated his court order by removing more than 200 people from the country after it was issued and celebrating it on social media.

The Trump administration says it did not defy a weekend court order to halt the use of wartime powers to fast-track deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.