A federal appeals court in a 2-1 decision Wednesday refused to lift U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s order blocking the Trump administration from swiftly deporting migrants under the Alien Enemies Act.

The Justice Department had urged the three-judge panel on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to immediately block Boasberg’s order, casting it as an intrusion on the president’s executive authority over national security.

The case has attracted significant attention after the administration leveraged the rarely used law to quickly deport hundreds of migrants officials claim are Venezuelan gang members to a notorious El Salvador prison.

The Alien Enemies Act can only be invoked amid a declared war or an “invasion” by a foreign nation. The law has been leveraged just three previous times, all during wars, but Trump

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