Those saboteurs were deemed "illegal combatants" and subject to trial and execution because of their plans to sabotage American plants, and because they had materials including maps and money, to carry those out. When you get into the relevant facts, Padilla is identical to Quirin.
Also, you are not up to speed on legal representation respectively for the 1942 saboteurs compared to Padilla, today. Padilla has already received more attention from lawyers (mostly military ones) and courts, than the saboteurs did all the way from their arrest to their executions.
Padilla is not a tough case at all. Unless the SCt is willing to throw out its own, prior, unanimous decision, Padilla loses. It's as simple as that.
Congressman Billybob
Excellent commentary...this whole Gitmo thing really has me agitated!