The actions came after lawyers sued in defense of the Venezuelans who are at risk of removal from the US under a law that gives the president the power to deport noncitizens in times of war.

Federal judges in New York and Texas on Wednesday took legal action to block the government from moving five Venezuelans out of the country until they can fight the government’s attempt to remove them under a rarely-invoked law that gives the president the power to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war.

The ACLU says the three men were declared gang members by ICE using flawed methods. The suit seeks to halt their deportation to a notorious El Salvador prison.