Habeas Corpus

No one should face imprisonment without charges or a trial.

The Secretary for Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, appeared before the Senate Homeland Security committee. During her appearance, she was asked rather simply if she knew what the writ of habeas corpus was. She replied: “Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country”.

What in the hell is she talking about?

I will grant that this hearing was set to discuss the budget for the next fiscal year, but it is mind-boggling that the Secretary of Homeland Security doesn’t know what habeas corpus is no matter the situation and these questions had to be expected when Homeland Security asked for an increase of $42 billion for immigration enforcement.

The writ of habeas corpus means the government is required to bring a defendant in front of a judge to prove there is a valid reason they are being held. Moreover, the Constitution clearly states requirements for its suspension:
“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.” Article I, Section 9

The first article of the U.S. Constitution outlines the powers of the Congress, NOT the powers of the President.

Secretary Noem did say that Donald Trump did not plan to suspend habeas corpus and she has had no conversations with him on the topic. Sadly, despite her comments that President Trump hadn’t told her anything about considering this action, White House advisor Stephen Miller recently said the administration was actively looking at suspending habeas corpus.

Secretary Noem also said that Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus which was retroactively approved by Congress, so President Trump should be allowed to as well, adding that he was not planning on doing so.

It is absolutely true that Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. Specifically, John Merryman was arrested on charges of treason but refusing to provide any proof or even saying why he was arrested.

We should absolutely not discount the other opinions at the time. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Roger B. Taney, ruled that the President did not have the power to suspend habeas corpus, saying, “The President has exercised a power which he does not possess under the Constitution.”

Clement Vallandigham was an anti-war congressman who spoke on lost rights during the civil war, saying, “I have denounced, from the beginning, the usurpations and the infractions, one and all, of law and Constitution, by the President” for which he was ultimately arrested.

Secretary Noem is correct that President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and also correct that Congress retrospectively approved it after the rulings were not followed. But she ignored two major facts: