Advocates for men targeted for deportation under President Donald Trump’s invocation of wartime powers against a Venezuelan gang are trying to move their legal fight to Manhattan, even though the Supreme Court expected it would play out in Texas.

Federal judges in New York and Texas on Wednesday issued orders to temporarily halt the deportation of Venezuelan plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act – a wartime authority the administration has invoked to deport alleged gang members without due process.

Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to curtail the ability of judges to issue nationwide injunctions blocking government policies after key parts of President Donald Trump's agenda have been stymied by such court rulings.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit sided with the government to block a lower-court ruling that had led to the reinstatement of thousands of federal workers.

The legislation is part of an escalating Republican campaign to take aim at judges who have moved to halt some of President Trump’s executive orders.

Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday allowed President Donald Trump to temporarily remove two board members at independent labor agencies while the justices consider whether the president may permanently fire them.

The actions came after lawyers sued in defense of the Venezuelans who are at risk of removal from the US under a law that gives the president the power to deport noncitizens in times of war.