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- 鈥淣azis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act,鈥� said Millett, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama
WASHINGTON: A federal judge on Monday sharply criticized the Trump administration鈥檚 summary deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members, saying 鈥淣azis got better treatment鈥� from the United States during World War II.
President Donald Trump sent two planeloads of Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador on March 15 after invoking an obscure wartime law known as the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA).
James Boasberg, chief judge of the US District Court in Washington, issued a restraining order that same day temporarily barring the Trump administration from carrying out any further deportation flights under the AEA.
The Justice Department is seeking to have the order lifted and a three-judge US Court of Appeals panel heard oral arguments in the closely watched case on Monday.
Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign said the judge鈥檚 order 鈥渞epresents an unprecedented and enormous intrusion upon the powers of the executive branch鈥� and 鈥渆njoins the president鈥檚 exercise of his war and foreign affairs powers.鈥�
Judge Patricia Millett appeared unconvinced and said the lower court judge was not disputing Trump鈥檚 presidential authority only the denial of individual court hearings to the deportees.
Attorneys for several of the deported Venezuelans have said that their clients were not members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, had committed no crimes and were targeted largely on the basis of their tattoos.
鈥淣azis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act,鈥� said Millett, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama. 鈥淭hey had hearing boards before people were removed.鈥�
鈥淧eople on those planes on that Saturday had no opportunity to challenge their removal under the AEA,鈥� she said. 鈥淵鈥檃ll could have picked me up on Saturday and thrown me on a plane thinking I鈥檓 a member of Tren de Aragua and given me no chance to protest it.
鈥淪omehow it鈥檚 a violation of presidential war powers for me to say, 鈥楨xcuse me, no, I鈥檓 not. I鈥檇 like a hearing?鈥欌€�
Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, also suggested that court hearings were warranted but appeared more receptive to the arguments that the judge鈥檚 order impinged on presidential powers.
The third judge on the panel is an appointee of former Republican president George H.W. Bush.
The AEA, which has previously only been used during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II, gives the government vast powers to round up citizens of a 鈥渉ostile nation鈥� during wartime.
Lee Gelernt, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed suit against the deportations, told the appeals court panel that the Trump administration was using the AEA 鈥渢o try and short circuit immigration proceedings.鈥�
The government would likely immediately resume AEA deportations if the temporary restraining order was lifted, Gelernt said.
鈥淲e are talking about people being sent to El Salvador, to one of the worst prisons in the world, incommunicado,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e essentially being disappeared.鈥�
In a 37-page opinion issued on Monday, Boasberg, the district court judge, said that migrants subject to potential deportation under the AEA should be 鈥渆ntitled to individualized hearings to determine whether the Act applies to them at all.鈥�
Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Boasberg, even going so far as to call for his impeachment, a remark that drew a rare public rebuke from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
The contentious case has raised concerns among legal experts that the Trump administration would potentially ignore the court order, triggering a constitutional crisis.
Ahead of the hearing, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced plans to send three alleged TdA members facing extortion and kidnapping charges to Chile under the AEA.
Blanche said the Justice Department 鈥渋s taking every step within the bounds of the law to ensure these individuals are promptly sent to Chile to face justice.鈥�