A senior official from the White House has indicated that US President Donald Trump, in line with his extensive immigration crackdown, is considering suspending habeas corpus, the fundamental right allowing individuals to contest their detention in court.
“The Constitution is unequivocal, and it is the supreme law of the land, stating that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus may be suspended during times of invasion,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller shared with reporters.
“This is an option we are actively exploring,” Mr. Miller mentioned. “Much of it hinges on whether the courts act appropriately or not.”
Mr. Trump campaigned for the presidency with a promise to deport millions of undocumented migrants, frequently labeling their presence in the United States as an “invasion.”
As part of his measures, the Republican president invoked a little-known wartime law in March to immediately deport hundreds of purported Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador.
Multiple federal courts have impeded further deportations initiated under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, with the Supreme Court also ruling that migrants facing deportation under the AEA must be given a chance to challenge their removal in court.
The AEA was historically utilized to detain Japanese-Americans during World War II and was previously invoked during the War of 1812 and World War I.
Suspending habeas corpus could potentially enable the administration to bypass individual removal proceedings and accelerate deportations, yet such a move would likely face significant legal challenges, eventually leading to the Supreme Court.
This measure has been rarely employed in US history, most notably by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War (1861-1865) and in Hawaii following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka speaking to the media outside the detention facility
A New Jersey mayor has been charged with trespassing at a detention center
In a related incident, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, a Democrat aspiring to become governor, was arrested yesterday for trespassing at a privately operated federal immigration detention center while three politicians conducted an unannounced inspection, officials reported.
Mayor Ras Baraka was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a scuffle at the gate of the ICE facility in Newark amid a visit by three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, as per a spokesperson for US Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman.
The spokesperson, Ned Cooper, stated that Ms. Watson Coleman and her two fellow Democratic colleagues, Representatives LaMonica McIver and Robert Menendez Jr., were also “shoved around a bit” in the altercation, but no injuries were reported.
Alina Habba, a former attorney for President Donald Trump, currently serving as acting US attorney, declared on the social media platform X that Mr. Baraka “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings” to vacate the ICE facility, known as Delaney Hall.
Later appearing on Fox News, Ms. Habba also accused Mr. Baraka of “grandstanding.”
Following his arrest, Mr. Baraka was held at a nearby ICE field office and later charged with a single count of trespassing, according to a criminal complaint filed by Ms. Habba’s office.
The mayor was released around 8 PM, after spending approximately seven hours in custody.
After his release, Mr. Baraka addressed a crowd of supporters, asserting that he “didn’t do anything wrong” and had gone to Delaney Hall “to support my Congress people.” He called on the crowd to disperse peacefully.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, stated that the congressional members were part of a group of demonstrators attempting to breach the facility when a bus of detainees arrived.
“These members of Congress storming into a detention facility crosses the line from a bizarre political stunt to endangering the safety of our law enforcement agents and the detainees,” the spokesperson commented in a statement.
Mr. Cooper mentioned that Ms. Watson Coleman, Ms. McIver, and Mr. Menendez paid an unannounced visit to the detention center “exercising their oversight roles as members of Congress,” asserting that ICE was required to allow them entry.
Allegations that politicians stormed the facility are “factually incorrect,” Mr. Cooper remarked, clarifying that Mr. Baraka remained outside the facility’s perimeter, where he “has been frequently showing up” in recent days.
Mr. Cooper noted that the politicians were not involved in or coordinated with a different protest occurring at the facility and had not arranged their visit with the mayor.
