The Trump administration today appealed to the Supreme Court to be allowed to deport immigrants under a law that has only been used in the past in cases of war, arguing that the courts should not infringe on presidential authority for national security.

Federal Judge James Boasberg on March 15 issued a temporary order suspending the deportation of more than 200 people who presented themselves as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, a government move based on the 1798 Alien Enemy Act. The Tren de Aragua gang, originally founded in Venezuela, has now been designated a “terrorist” organization by Washington.

The judge’s ruling was upheld Wednesday by a federal appeals court.

The Alien Enemy Act of 1798 had been used only three times in American history. The last was during World War II, to remove Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants from the country or incarcerate them in camps.

The Trump administration’s call for the deportation of immigrants has no legitimacy, according to many judges.

Recall that the majority on the Supreme Court are conservative justices (6-3), including three appointed by Trump during his first presidential term.

The Justice Department in its appeal, asks the Supreme Court to lift Boasberg’s March 15 order.

“This case raises fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national security-related operations: the president or the judiciary,” the Justice Department said in its appeal to the Supreme Court.

“The Constitution provides a clear answer: the President. Democracy cannot afford a different choice,” it added, asking “at the very least” the Court to block the decision of the lower court judge while the merits of the case are considered.

The Nazis had more rights than Venezuelan immigrants deported by the Trump administration, since the former were allowed to appeal to the courts and claim residency in the United States during World War II, appeals court judge Patricia Millett said Monday during an appeal hearing, arguing that back then “there were instances of appeals before a person was deported.”

“As long as the (primary) rulings remain in effect, the U.S. cannot rely on the presidential proclamation to remove dangerous members of a foreign terrorist organization, even if it receives information that certain members of Tren de Aragua are about to commit acts of destabilization or infiltration,” the Trump administration insisted.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, gave the opposing side until April 1 to respond.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked Judge Boasberg on Wednesday to extend the stay for two weeks, until April 12.

The White House has attacked the judge, with Trump reaching the unprecedented point last week of calling for his impeachment after verbally attacking him. For that, he was reprimanded – a rare event – by Chief Justice Roberts.

The Trump administration has been particularly critical of Judge Boasberg for ordering, without reason, that the planes carrying the deported migrants, which had already taken off, be turned back.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem, who traveled to El Salvador this week, visited a large prison where Venezuelans deported on March 15 are being held.

“President Trump and I have a clear message about criminal illegal immigrants: FLEE NOW. If you don’t leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvador prison,” she wrote in a social media post, which she accompanied with photos of the prison’s facilities, with dozens of inmates behind her in their cells.

The Republican president has made cracking down on illegal immigration a priority, continuing to talk about the “invasion” of the U.S. by “criminals coming from abroad” and heavily promoting deportations of immigrants.