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

Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, at the San Oscar Arnulfo Romero international airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, in this handout image obtained March 16, 2025. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

(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 Two 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.