White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said Friday that the administration is looking into suspending habeas corpus, potentially eliminating a path for immigrants to challenge their detention.
“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 an invasion,” Miller told reporters outside the White House. “So I would say that’s an option we’re actively looking at. A lot of this depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”
The right to habeas corpus is spelled out in Article I of the U.S. Constitution, with limited exceptions for it to be suspended “when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” Presidents have rarely made broad suspensions — the most sweeping example is when Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War.