Correction: An earlier version of this story misattributed multiple quotes to an incorrect judge. They were said by U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett. This story has been updated to accurately reflect the speaker.
The Trump administration on Monday defended the president’s use of wartime powers to quickly remove Venezuelan migrants and send them to a foreign prison by plane, arguing that the migrants could have challenged their deportations even as they were kept in the dark about where they were going.
The response from an appellate judge in Washington was disbelief.
“There were plane loads of people. There were no procedures in place to notify people. Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act than what happened here … and they had ‘hearing boards’ before people were removed,” said Judge Patricia Millett, who was appointed by President Barack Obama.