Nazis were treated better than Venezuelans deported by Trump, judge says at hearing

Defense lawyers request return of migrants, seek due process

20250325 APTOPIX El Salvador Deportees AP25075583391147.jpg

In this photo provided by El Salvador's presidential press office, prison guards transfer deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 16. © AP

March 25, 2025 09:56 JST

(Reuters) -- A U.S. appeals court judge said on Monday that Nazis were given more rights to contest their removal from the United States during World War II than Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration.

In a contentious hearing, U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett questioned government lawyer Drew Ensign on whether Venezuelans targeted for removal under a little-used 18th-century law had time to contest the Trump administration's assertion that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang before they were put on planes and deported to El Salvador.