What is habeas corpus? Why Trump considered to suspend it?

U.S. President Donald Trump, in the early months of his second term, discussed with his top advisors the suspension of habeas corpus.

According to The New York Times, the move aimed at accelerating mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, as revealed in the secret White House memos.

What is habeas corpus?

Habeas corpus is the Latin for “you shall have the body.” In simple terms, it is a legal procedure that requires the government to justify to a judge why it has detained or locked someone up.

Supported by Article I of the U.S. Constitution, it has long been celebrated as a basic safeguard against arbitrary arrest and detention.

Previously, the right has been formally suspended a few times, but under special circumstances like war or invasion. Abraham Lincoln suspended it during the Civil War. But never in history has it specifically targeted immigrants.

Why is Trump considering it?

As described in secret memos, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller pushed aggressively to bypass the authority of federal judges who were ultimately causing delays in mass deportations.

Fueled by a decisive 2024 election victory, Trump was receptive to testing the limits of his authority.

But the “confidential” stamped memo dated April 29, 2025, reveals that White House staff secretary Will Scharf warned that the move can potentially be struck down by courts, creating a self-inflicted legal crisis.

Scharf wrote: “The denial of habeas corpus rights was a key grievance underlying the American Revolution.”

What about the Insurrection Act?

The administration had considered suspending the writ of habeas corpus after initially backing down, especially following the protests in Minnesota. The VP, JD Vance, had made the case for using the Insurrection Act. Once again, Scharf opposed this idea, and no decision has been taken yet.