PRESIDENT Donald Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act against the Tren de Aragua gang as he continues efforts to speed up deportations.

The Tren de Aragua gang is an international organised crime group from Venezuela – designated as terrorists by the US.

The 1798 Act was last used to justify the internment of Japanese-American civilians during World War 2.

The Trump administration looks to speed up the deportation of migrants affiliated with the Venezuelan gang.

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 gives gargantuan levels of authority to the Republican to target and remove undocumented immigrants.

It is designed as a law to be invoked if the US is at war with another country or a nation has invaded the US or threatened to do so.

Earlier on Saturday, the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward filed an extraordinary lawsuit in federal court in Washington contending the order would identify the Venezuelan gang as a predatory incursion by a foreign government and seek to deport any Venezuelan in the country as a member of that gang, regardless of the facts.

James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the D.C. Circuit, agreed to implement a temporary restraining order preventing the deportation for 14 days under the act of the five Venezuelans who are already in immigration custody and believed they were being moved to be deported.

Boasberg said his order was to preserve the status quo.

Boasberg scheduled a hearing for later in the afternoon to see if his order should be expanded to protect all Venezuelans in the United States.

Hours later, the Trump administration appealed the initial restraining order, contending that halting a presidential act before it has been announced would cripple the executive branch.