The Trump administration notched a procedural legal victory Tuesday after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a judge’s order requiring the government to offer due process to nearly 140 Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador earlier this year.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an administrative stay halting an order by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who had given the administration until Wednesday to outline a plan allowing the deportees, who were in the U.S. illegally, to challenge their removal from the United States.

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The migrants, accused by the government of having links to the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, are being held in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison following their March 15 deportation under the Alien Enemies Act.

The appeals court ruling does not address the merits of the case but buys time for the court to consider the Trump administration’s appeal. Briefing is scheduled to continue through June 18.

Boasberg had previously ruled that the Constitution requires some form of due process, regardless of the men’s alleged criminal ties. But the Justice Department pushed back, arguing that since the migrants are now in Salvadoran custody, U.S. courts have no jurisdiction and cannot compel the administration to retrieve them or intervene in a foreign country’s detention practices.

“The separation of powers prevents this Court from ordering the Executive to retake custody from El Salvador,” DOJ attorneys wrote in their emergency motion, calling the judge’s order “unprecedented” and a threat to national security and foreign affairs.

White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson criticized Boasberg’s ruling in a statement last week, saying it undermined presidential authority. “His current and previous attempts to prevent President Trump from deporting criminal illegal aliens poses a direct threat to the safety of the American people,” she said.

The Supreme Court has already weighed in on the broader case, ruling in April that the deported men must be allowed to file habeas corpus petitions, but only where they’re being held.

WHY EVEN LAWFUL DEPORTATIONS ARE BEING SHOT DOWN IN COURT

But the high court has left unresolved the legal question at the heart of the fight: whether the U.S. retains “constructive custody” over individuals deported under bilateral agreements with foreign governments.

The D.C. Circuit’s temporary pause is just one piece of a broader legal battle over the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, with a separate case set for argument later this month at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans.