More than half of the 261 immigrants expelled to El Salvador on Saturday were swept out of the United States using a wartime powers act, a White House official said Sunday, amid questions about whether the Trump administration flouted a judge’s order barring use of the statute to hasten deportations.

Administration officials said they expect the fight over using the wartime act to ultimately head to the Supreme Court.

While the White House insists it has complied with a recent court order temporarily blocking the president from invoking a rarely used wartime authority, ABC News' review of flight data and court documents suggests the Trump administration ignored the court's ruling.