The Trump administration is “actively” considering suspending habeas corpus as it seeks to continue its mass deportation efforts that are being hindered by federal judges.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said on Friday that the Constitution makes it “clear” that the writ of habeas corpus, which allows a person to petition a court to review the legality of their detention, can be “suspended in a time of invasion.”
“So, it’s an option we’re actively looking at,” Miller said, adding that “it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”
Multiple federal judges have stopped Trump from carrying out his deportation agenda by blocking the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act. The Trump administration was using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport Venezuelan illegal immigrants that it said were violent criminals and gang members. The president blasted “activist judges” on Wednesday, calling on them to allow the deportation of “murderers, and other criminals who have come into our Country illegally, WITHOUT DELAY!!!
“Our Court System is not letting me do the job I was Elected to do,” Trump added.
Miller also argued on Friday that the Immigration and Nationality Act, which was passed by Congress in 1965, strips the judicial branch’s jurisdiction “from overruling a presidential determination or a secretarial determination on TPS [temporary protected status].”
“So when Secretary [Kristi] Noem terminated TPS for the illegals that Biden flew into the country, when the courts stepped in, they were violating explicit language that Congress had enacted. … So the courts aren’t just at war with the executive branch, the courts are at war — these radical, rogue judges — with the legislative branch as well. So all of that will inform the choices the president ultimately makes,” Miller said.
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
If the White House attempts to suspend habeas corpus by arguing that the United States is being invaded, the move would likely be challenged, creating another battle between the courts and the president. Habeas corpus has been suspended four times throughout U.S. history. The first time was during the Civil War, and then again during Reconstruction while the federal government was going after the Ku Klux Klan. It was also suspended in the Philippines in 1905 during an insurrection and in Hawaii after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Trump rebuffed an order from Judge James Boasberg on March 15 after the judge said the administration must return deportation flights carrying Venezuelans to El Salvador. The deportation fight eventually made its way up to the Supreme Court, which blocked Trump from deporting suspected Tren de Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act “until further order of this Court.”
