Stephen Miller Has a Dangerous New Idea About Habeas Corpus
The White House is “actively looking” at ending habeas corpus as it continues its massive deportation crusade, according to deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
Habeas corpus requires authorities to justify an individual’s confinement.
“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 Friday.
The Trump administration has leaned on the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify its immigration crackdown while ignoring immigrants’ due process rights, sometimes defying court orders in the process. Donald Trump has defended the infractions by claiming that immigration into the country is tantamount to an “invasion,” and has described the current era as a “time of war.”
But continuing that rhetoric flies in the face of direction by the Supreme Court, which ruled immigrants must be allowed to challenge their deportations under the centuries-old act via habeas corpus.
Judges in several cases have so far ruled against the Trump administration’s interpretation of the law, deciding that the executive branch was illegally leveraging the Alien Enemies Act to deport residents it perceived to be threats.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez ruled that Tren de Aragua’s presence did not constitute an “invasion,” as Trump had claimed.
“The Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful,” Rodriguez decided. “[Administration officials] do not possess the lawful authority under the AEA, and based on the Proclamation, to detain Venezuelan aliens, transfer them within the United States, or remove them from the country.”
