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.

"Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act than has happened here," Millett said, to which Ensign responded, "We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy."