Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested that habeas corpus could be suspended to speed the deportation of criminal illegal aliens who could meet the constitutional conditions for invoking the rarely used measure.
During her Wednesday testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee on the agency’s budget, the DHS boss was asked by a Republican lawmaker about whether stripping foreign thugs of being able to challenge their deportation would meet the bar of “in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it” specified by the U.S. Constitution.
BREAKING: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem comes out in LEGAL SUPPORT of suspending the writ of habeas corpus for illegal aliens, an idea posed by @DC_Draino a couple weeks ago.
REP. ELI CRANE: “Article I, Section 9, Clause 2 [says] that the writ of habeas corpus shall not be… pic.twitter.com/eBiaUlf0Lb
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 14, 2025
Referring to the nation’s founding document, Crane said, “It says that the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless, when cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it,” asking if Noem knew which presidents have previously suspended the writ.
“I know that President Lincoln did,” she answered, referring to the iconic Civil War-era leader.
After adding that habeas corpus was also suspended by two other presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant, Crane asked, “You testified under oath, I believe, that the Biden administration allowed an invasion into our country, is that correct?”
Noem answered that it was correct, to which Crane followed up with “Do you think it falls under the constitutional guidelines?”
“I’m not a constitutional lawyer, but I believe it does,” Noem responded.
Citing the obstruction of President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to rid the country of dangerous foreign criminals by turning to activist judges, the congressman then asked Noem if she would be “open and supportive of this constitutional option to keep Americans safe and carry out the president’s agenda?”
“Well, this is something that’s not in my purview to weigh in on; this is the president’s prerogative to pursue, and he has not indicated to me that he will or will not be taking that action,” she answered.
Habeas corpus requires a government to produce an individual being held and to justify their confinement, and has been a fundamental tenet of law that predates the Magna Carta. Its suspension is reserved for extreme circumstances, and the Democrats’ abuse of the courts to effectively turn foreign criminals into a protected class would seem to merit extraordinary measures, at least in the eyes of some.
Top Trump aide and illegal immigration hawk Stephen Miller previously said that the White House was considering the measure, one that would have Democrats and their allies howling about another “constitutional crisis” of the week if the administration decides to pull the trigger.
Stephen Miller says the White House is looking into suspending habeas corpus, which protects people from unlawful detentions: “A lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.” pic.twitter.com/AZLhFy79oZ
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 9, 2025
“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 last week. “So I would say that’s an option we’re actively looking at. A lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”
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