U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a 96-hour hold on Thursday, pausing the Trump administration‘s deportations until noon on Monday while attorneys brief him on whether he has the authority to halt the DHS from proceeding with the removals. Lawyers for the Justice Department argued Thursday morning that Moss lacks jurisdiction to intervene in the matter.

In an emergency motion filed one day before the Thursday hearing, groups representing the asylum-seekers asserted that the eight individuals faced immediate risk of deportation. The migrants are represented by the National Immigrant Justice Center, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs fled their home countries to escape persecution, violence, and life-threatening situations. Two Afghan asylum-seekers, A.M. and Z.A., fled with their young children, fearing Taliban retaliation for their political beliefs. N.S., from Ecuador, escaped domestic abuse and threats from her ex-partner, a police officer. Another Ecuadorian, B.R., survived cartel violence, including kidnapping and torture, and fears being targeted again. G.A., from Brazil, risks severe domestic abuse if deported, while M.A., from Egypt, endured imprisonment and torture for his pro-democracy activism and fears further persecution.

However, some of the plaintiffs involved may have already been subject to deportations by the Trump administration. During the hearing, a DOJ attorney informed Moss that N.S. may have already been removed from the country, according to a local CBS affiliate.

The lawsuit is part of a broader legal battle over President Donald Trump’s recent proclamation declaring the situation at the southern border an “invasion” and directing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to “repel, repatriate, or remove” noncitizens crossing the border.

In a motion to dismiss filed on Feb. 11, DOJ attorneys described the groups servicing the plaintiffs as “organizations that provide legal services to aliens” and defended the president’s proclamation, emphasizing that “millions of aliens who potentially pose significant threats to health, safety, and national security have moved into communities nationwide.”

The plaintiffs argue that the proclamation unlawfully expands the president’s powers under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the suspension of entry but does not permit summary expulsion of noncitizens already on U.S. soil.

“The Proclamation is as unlawful as it is unprecedented,” the complaint said. “Indeed, the Proclamation does not even exempt unaccompanied children, despite the specific protections such children receive by statute.”

But the DOJ contends that INA’s provisions have largely been rendered “ineffective” due to the sheer number of illegal border crossings each year.

“The President thus determined that ‘the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion,’” the DOJ said.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS MIGRANT FLIGHTS TO GUANTANAMO BAY HAVE BEGUN

Moss gave the Trump administration until midnight on Friday to submit arguments on why he lacks authority to prevent the removals. Plaintiffs and refugee groups must respond by midnight on Saturday. A hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Monday.

In a separate but related matter, a federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s effort to transfer three Venezuelan immigrants to Guantanamo Bay. The men had won a restraining order preventing their transfer but were instead deported directly to Venezuela on Monday. This comes as the administration continues using an Army post in El Paso, Texas, to send Venezuelan immigrants to Guantanamo as part of its immigration enforcement crackdown.