Donald Trump on Saturday tried to invoke a law, last used during World War II against Japanese residents, to target a Venezuelan gang. However, his decision was blocked by a judge.

The US president had issued an order to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan drug gang Tren de Aragua, arguing he had a right to declare them as “alien enemies” under a wartime act.

But rights lawyers went to court and a federal judge ordered the administration not to deport anyone until he had more time to review the legality of the order.

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is a wartime authority that allows a president to detain or deport citizens of an enemy nation. It has been invoked three times in US history: during the War of 1812, World War I, and, most famously, in World War II between 1942 and 1946, when around 120,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans were interned.

Now, Mr Trump, who has promised supporters an aggressive drive to deport thousands of undocumented migrants, is targeting the Tren de Aragua gang. In a proclamation, the White House declared that the transnational criminal organisation is closely linked to the government of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.