The White House late Sunday responded to speculation about whether the Trump administration had defied court orders in having deported to El Salvador roughly 200 illegal migrants, including alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

“The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement. "The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory.”

On Saturday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued an order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from using the 1789 Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal migrants. However, the flights were in the air at the time of the ruling, according to the Associated Press. 

Lawyers told the judge there were already two planes with immigrants in the air – one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras.

Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not, and he did not include the directive in his written order, the wire service also reports.

The matter appears to be setting up a legal showdown in which the Trump White House will challenge whether the courts have the legal authority over the the matter.

"This is headed to the Supreme Court," a White House official to the news outlet Axios. "And we’re going to win."

A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil,” Leavitt also said.