Trump Administration Considered Suspending Habeas Corpus for Mass Deportations

Leaked internal memoranda from 2025 reveal that Donald Trump and his senior aides considered suspending the constitutional right of habeas corpus to facilitate a mass deportation campaign. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller led the effort, arguing that illegal immigration constituted an invasion that justified the suspension to prevent detainees from challenging their imprisonment in court.

White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf blocked the proposal, issuing a confidential memo on April 29, 2025, to Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Scharf warned that such a move would be a legal nonstarter, noting that the authority typically rests with Congress and that such suspensions have occurred only four times in U.S. history during dire circumstances. Other officials, including White House Counsel David Warrington, expressed skepticism, while Trump queried aides about Abraham Lincoln's historical use of the power.

Parallel debates occurred regarding the Insurrection Act. In late January, Vice President JD Vance and Miller advocated for invoking the Act to quell disturbances in Minnesota following the killing of two citizens by federal agents. Scharf again resisted, describing the Act as a break-the-glass exception and warning it would trigger vigorous litigation. While neither the habeas corpus suspension nor the Insurrection Act were implemented, the administration adopted a policy on July 8, 2025, allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain immigrants without bond hearings, leading to over 15,000 federal court rulings, most of which favored the immigrants.