DONALD Trump is planning to suspend the legal right to challenge detention by the government to crack down on illegal immigrants, according to his top aide.
Stephen Miller, a senior White House adviser, said the administration is looking for ways to expand its legal power to deport migrants who are in the country illegally.
He said that the president was “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus – the right to challenge a person’s imprisonment by the government.
Miller said in a press briefing: “The Constitution is clear, and that, of course, is the supreme law of the land that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion, he told reporters.
“So it’s an option that we’re actively looking at.”
He added that a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.
It has been a major avenue for migrants to legally challenge their deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.
Trump’s day-one immigration executive order allows federal agents to arrest and remove any individual lacking legal documentation.
He also signed a directive to end birthright citizenship – when a person born on US soil is given American citizenship.
And he closed down a Biden-era Customs and Border Protection app that gave migrants the chance to apply to legally enter the US by seeking asylum.
It comes after Trump flaunted his administration’s success with its crackdown on illegal immigration using lawn signs of reported arrested criminals.
Photos of a lengthy line of signs placed along the White House lawn on Monday morning caused quite a stir ahead of a celebratory press conference where the new admin’s success was revealed.
“And they say yard signs don’t win elections…” Trump official Kaelan Dorr wrote in reaction to the yard signs on X.
The signs included the faces of some of the worst criminals that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents arrested during Trump’s first 100 days in office, a White House official told the New York Post.
The signs included a photo of the alleged offenders along with the word “arrested” and the type of crime they were accused of.
Some of the crimes included murder, rape, and sexual assault of a child.
Trump’s crackdown on immigration
STARTING on January 20, Trump has taken a series of measures aimed at cracking down on migration, including implementing a broad ban on asylum for migrants encountered at the southern border and ending some legal pathways for migrants to enter the US.
The abrupt termination of one such humanitarian parole program, known as CBP One, left thousands of migrants from around the world suddenly stranded in Mexico with few, if any, legal pathways to reach the U.S.
About 20 migrants in Mexico told Reuters that since CBP One ended on January 20 they’ve sought to return to their home countries, but lack the money or documents to do so. Some don’t have valid passports, required for boarding international flights.
Many migrants fear staying in Mexico due to the risks of assault, kidnapping, and extortion by powerful organized crime groups that prey on migrants.
The lawn display came as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan celebrated the administration’s accomplishments as they near 100 days in office.
Leavitt told reporters on Monday morning that attempted illegal crossings into the US at the southern border hit record lows in February and March.
She said that US Border Patrol encountered just over 7,000 illegal immigrants this past March.
This is a 95 per cent decrease from the 140,000 illegal immigrants that border agents encountered in March 2024 when former President Joe Biden was in office, according to Leavitt.
Leavitt said the Trump administration is “working 24/7 to successfully arrest and deport” criminals living in the US illegally.
The spokeswoman added that nearly 800 illegal immigrants were arrested during a massive four-day ICE raid in Florida a couple weeks ago.
