Donald Trump senior advisor Stephen Miller said Friday that the White House is “actively looking at” suspending the ability of migrants to challenge their detention in court, according to Bloomberg.
“The Constitution is clear,” Miller said, citing the clause allowing for suspension of habeas corpus during times of invasion. “So it’s an option we’re actually looking at, but a lot of it depends on whether the court will do the right thing or not.”
The eyebrow-raising comments came Friday as Miller addressed reporters, where he floated the possibility of the move, which would essentially halt habeas corpus rights for government detainees. It is intended to speed up the administration’s deportation efforts, Bloomberg reported.
“Habeas corpus allows for those detained by the government to challenge the detention and be released from imprisonment after wrongful arrest,” Bloomberg said. “In immigration proceedings, habeas reviews can consider how long migrants are being held before deportations, and the conditions of their imprisonment.”
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Miller’s remarks came hours after a federal judge in Vermont ordered the release of a Tufts University doctoral student detained in March as part of Trump’s sweeping crackdown on foreign students involved in pro-Palestine campus protests.
The White House adviser concluded that the ruling was part of a “judicial coup” and insisted that the executive branch had “absolute authority” to revoke visas without court interference, Bloomberg noted.
“This judicial coup by a handful of Marxist judges to frustrate that effort can only be understood as an attack on democracy,” Miller said.