The Trump administration has deported alleged members of a Venezuelan gang from the U.S. despite a court order forbidding it from doing so, saying in an extraordinary statement that a judge did not have the authority to block its actions.

Hundreds of mostly Venezuelan alleged gang members were deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador on Sunday, with the Trump administration invoking wartime powers to speed up removals despite a court ruling halting the move.

The White House maintained that the federal judge who ordered a halt to the Trump administration's recent deportation flights "had no lawful basis" to issue the order.

President Donald Trump's administration decided to ignore a judge's order to turn around two flights containing alleged Venezuelan gang members, sources said.