Attorneys for several of the deported Venezuelans have said that their clients were not members of Tren de Aragua, had committed no crimes and were targeted largely on the basis of their tattoos.

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. refused Wednesday to lift an emergency order from a lower court judge blocking President Donald Trump from carrying out mass deportations of suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

A U.S. Appeals Court denied the Trump administration's request to reverse a District Court judge's order that blocked deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act.