Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Trump administration potentially suspending habeas corpus, engaging in a public scuffle Tuesday with a Democratic senator over her flubbing the definition of the legal principle that serves as a check on the government’s ability to detain people.
When asked at a Senate hearing Tuesday by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) to define habeas corpus — the right of due process to challenge a person’s detention by the government — Noem described the term as “a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”
Hassan, a staunch critic of President Donald Trump, quickly fired back at Noem, calling her definition “incorrect.”
“Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people,” Hassan said. “If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason.”
Hassan then pressed Noem on whether she supports the legal principle, but the secretary didn’t back down.
“I support habeas corpus — I also recognize that the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not,” Noem said.
The Trump administration has floated suspending the legal right amid its crackdown on illegal immigration. Stephen Miller, a senior aide to Trump, told reporters that the administration was considering doing so earlier this month.
“The Constitution is clear … the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus could be suspended in time of invasion,” he said earlier this month. “So that’s an option we’re actively looking at. A lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”
The Trump administration has been barreling forward with its aggressive campaign to deport thousands of immigrants in the country illegally since Trump’s return to office in January. However, the effort has sparked various legal challenges surrounding whether Trump’s actions have exceeded the power of the executive branch and wrongfully revoked migrants’ rights to due process.
The hearing, held by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, was scheduled to discuss DHS’ budget request for the upcoming fiscal year.
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