Trump aide Stephen Miller has issued a direct threat to the courts that they need to fall in line with the administration's extreme deportation policies — or else, according to an article in Slate.
Miller's warning revolved around habeas corpus, a person's constitutional right to have their detention by authorities justified before a judge. In cases like the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was shipped off to an El Salvador prison without a court hearing, habeas corpus was clearly ignored, the article argued.
"In recent weeks, Trump officials have begun suggesting that they can simply revoke habeas corpus," wrote reporter Shirin Ali. "Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters that 'the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion. So I would say that’s an option we’re actively looking at.'"
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Miller continued, saying that "whether the Trump administration tries to suspend habeas corpus or not depends on 'whether the courts do the right thing or not."
"He was basically saying the quiet part out loud: that it’s a threat from the executive branch to twist the arm of the judiciary," Ali wrote.
Habeas corpus can be suspended in extreme cases, but only by Congress, "not the president, despite what the Trump administration has said," Ali wrote.
She quoted Georgetown law professor Steve Vladeck saying, "The reality is that the Trump administration is likely hoping that 'no one actually pays close attention to the text' of the Constitution 'because it’s not just that we’re not actually being invaded by anyone right now, it’s that even the suspension clause does not authorize suspensions by the president, ever.'”