Story perspectives

White House Mulls Habeas Corpus Pause for Undocumented Immigrants

6/16/2026

Summary

Story summary

In April 2025 White House staff secretary Will Scharf sent chief of staff Susie Wiles a memo proposing a pause on habeas corpus for unauthorized immigrants.
The memo cited the Constitution’s clause allowing suspension only during rebellion or invasion.
Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters the administration was examining the suspension option.
Critics condemned the proposal after federal immigration agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.

History

Historical Context

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln secured Congress’s Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, which the House passed 99-44 on March 2 1863 and Lincoln signed March 3, authorizing presidential suspension of the writ—a move Chief Justice Roger Taney condemned in Ex parte Merryman. Today’s White House memo by staff secretary Will Scharf echoes that 1863 precedent of using emergency powers to curb perceived threats.

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Story summary

In April 2025 White House staff secretary Will Scharf sent chief of staff Susie Wiles a memo proposing a pause on habeas corpus for unauthorized immigrants.
The memo cited the Constitution’s clause allowing suspension only during rebellion or invasion.
Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters the administration was examining the suspension option.
Critics condemned the proposal after federal immigration agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.

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