Albuquerque, New Mexico - A federal court on Sunday temporarily blocked the deportation of three Venezuelan men in New Mexico to the US' infamous Guantánamo Bay detention facility as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration crackdown.

The men – who are currently detained at the Otero County Processing Center – had requested a temporary restraining order, which was granted by Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales of the Federal District Court for New Mexico.

The petitioners reportedly recognized fellow migrants who had been held in the same US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in news coverage of recent Guantánamo transfers.

"I fear being taken to Guantánamo because the news is painting it as a black hole," petitioner Abrahan Barrios Morales said in a Center for Constitutional Rights press release. "I also see that human rights are constantly violated at Guantánamo, so I fear what could happen to me if I get taken there."

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Trump last month ordered the preparation of a 30,000-person "migrant facility" at the US' Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the US imprisoned around 780 men and boys at the facility – the vast majority without any criminal charges – with reports of brutal torture widespread.

The US government has not revealed the identities of people it is believed to have flown to Guantánamo since Trump retook the White House, while rights groups are demanding information on the conditions of their detention.

"Now, the Trump administration is invoking the specter of Guantánamo, known around the world as a shameful symbol of torture and lawlessness, to terrorize our clients Luis, Leonel, and Abrahan and others like them," said Jessica Vosburgh, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

"Our clients refuse to be used as pawns in this twisted game of punishment theater," she continued.

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"The question before the court is simple: will the judge allow the executive branch to smuggle away individuals who have a pending case to a military prison on a remote island where there is no guarantee their rights will be respected or that they will even be able to make a phone call to their lawyers or their loved ones? The answer must be a resounding no."

The Center for Constitutional Rights notes that the petitioners arrived in the US seeking asylum before an immigration judge ordered their deportation. They have a pending federal case in New Mexico challenging what they say is their unlawfully prolonged detention.