Judge: Nazis Got Better Treatment Than Venezuelans

A panel of appeals court judges appeared divided Monday on a Trump administration push to lift an order blocking deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law—a case that has become a flashpoint amid escalating tension with the federal courts. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett said Nazis detained in the US during World World II received better legal treatment than Venezuelan immigrants who were were deported to El Salvador this month under the same statute. "We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy," Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign responded during a hearing of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

• Millett is one of three appellate judges who will decide whether to lift a March 15 order temporarily prohibiting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, the AP reports. They didn't rule from the bench Monday.
• A second judge appeared open to the administration's argument that the migrants should be challenging their detention in Texas rather than the nation's capital. The third judge on the panel didn't ask any questions.

• The administration has transferred hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador, invoking the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II. President Trump's administration appealed after Chief Judge James Boasberg blocked those deportations and ordered planeloads of Venezuelan immigrants to return to the US. The planes did not return, and Boasberg is considering holding the administration in contempt.
• The Alien Enemies Act allows noncitizens to be deported without the opportunity to go before an immigration or federal court judge. Trump issued a proclamation calling the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force. Ensign argued that Boasberg's ruling was an "unprecedented and enormous intrusion upon the powers of the executive branch." "The president has to comply with the Constitution and the laws like anyone else," said MiIlett.
• Earlier Monday, Boasberg declined to lift his restraining order, the BBC reports. "Because the named Plaintiffs dispute that they are members of Tren de Aragua, they may not be deported until a court has been able to decide the merits of their challenge," the judge said, adding that the administration is still free to deport Venezuelans through normal immigration channels.
• Boasberg said his orders impose no restriction on the apprehension of alleged Tren de Aragua members, "nor does it require that any individual—dangerous or otherwise—be released from custody," Politico reports. He said that during both world wars, judges reviewed people's claims that they were misidentified as alien enemies, and the cases "establish conclusively that courts can determine an individual's alien-enemy status—and are obligated to do so when asked."

(More James Boasberg stories.)