The White House defended its decision to proceed with multiple deportation flights over the weekend after a federal judge ordered President Donald Trump to pause the flights while courts determine his legal footing.

A U.S. federal judge asked the Trump administration to explain how it failed to act on its court order to halt the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, including alleged gang members, escalating the confrontation between the President and the federal judiciary.

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.

Trump applauded Bukele for his "understanding of this horrible situation" as 250 Tren de Aragua members and 23 MS-13 members were deported to El Salvador.

Tren de Aragua, a gang born out of a Venezuelan prison, is a loose network that doesn’t operate like groups typically considered terrorist organizations.