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During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Donald Trump was asked about what his administration was considering in regards to mitigate rulings against the administration when it comes to deportations. Trump suggested that the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was one way to go about this.
"One way that's been used by three highly-respected presidents. We hope we don't have to go that route, but there is one way that's been used very successfully by three presidents," Trump said. "Hopefully we don't have to go that way," he added.
Article I, Section 9, Clause 2 of the Constitution states that "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." Per Cornell Law School, "A writ of habeas corpus is used to bring a prisoner or other detainee (e.g. institutionalized mental patient) before the court to determine if the person's imprisonment or detention is lawful. A habeas petition proceeds as a civil action against the State agent (usually a warden) who holds the defendant in custody." The petition can also be used "to examine any extradition processes used, the amount of bail, and the jurisdiction of the court."
Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act early in March in an attempt to swiftly deport illegal immigrant gang members from the country. He stated that as the leader of the US, "it is my solemn duty to protect the American people from the devastating effects of this invasion."
"I find and declare that [Tren de Aragua] is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States," the order states. His invocation of the act has been challenged in the courts.
Habeas corpus was suspended by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, President Franklin Roosevelt in Hawaii following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and President Ulysses S. Grant in nine South Carolina counties in the wake of violence from the Ku Klux Klan.
Conservative commentator Rogan O'Handley, also known as DC Draino, asked during Monday's press briefing if this would be suspended, to which press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "I have not heard such discussions take place, but I can assure you that the President and the entire administration are certainly open to all legal and constitutional remedies to ensure we can continue with the promise of deporting illegal criminals on our nation's border."
She added, "And I also agree with the premise of your question, which doesn't happen in this room often. But I do agree with yours. It is absurd that the previous administration was allowed to allow 15 million – that we know about – illegal aliens into this country with very little pushback from our judicial branch, but this President is trying to simply enforce our nation's immigration laws and is facing roadblock after road block."
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