Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) grilled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem over misconceptions about habeas corpus, the legal right to challenge detentions in court.
During Tuesday's Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Hassan asked Noem to explain habeas corpus rights.
"Well, habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their right to," Noem began before being interrupted.
"No, let me stop you, ma'am," Hassan remarked. "That's incorrect."
"Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people," she continued. "If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason."
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"As a senator from the live free or die state, this matters a lot to me and my constituents and to all Americans."
Noem insisted that she supported habeas corpus and would comply with court orders upholding it.
