White House 'actively looking' at suspending habeas corpus in immigration crackdown
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Friday that President Trump and his team are “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus as part of the administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Well, the Constitution is clear — and that of course is the supreme law of the land — that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion,” Miller told reporters at the White House.
“So, it’s an option we’re actively looking at. Look, a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”
A writ of habeas corpus compels authorities to produce an individual they are holding and to justify their confinement.
It’s been a key avenue migrants have used to challenge pending deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely-used 18th-century power Trump cited to deport Venezuelan nationals he’s accused of being gang members to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador.
It’s also been how recently detained students such as Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil have challenged their detention.
The Constitution says habeas corpus may not be suspended “unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”
The writ of habeas corpus has been suspended only four times,........
© The Hill
