A federal judge barred the Trump administration Saturday from carrying out deportations under a sweeping 18th century law that the president invoked just hours earlier to speed removal of Venezuelan gang members from the United States.

A federal judge on Saturday barred the administration of President Donald Trump from deportations under an 18th century law that Trump invoked just hours earlier

James E. Boasberg, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said he needed to issue his order immediately because the government was already flying migrants it claimed were newly deportable under Trump’s proclamation to El Salvador and Honduras to be incarcerated there

“I do not believe I can wait any longer and am required to act,” Boasberg said during a Saturday evening hearing in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and Democracy Forward. “A brief delay in their removal does not cause the government any harm,” he added, noting they remain in government custody but ordering that any planes in the air be turned around