For centuries, the writ of habeas corpus—a fundamental protection against unlawful imprisonment—has remained a core fixture of democratic governance. Suspending it would defy the Constitution, but Trump is weighing his options.
Despite repeated legal setbacks demanding an end to these autocratic practices, the Trump administration continues its assault on the rule of law. For some of those snatched off the streets, the ultimate destination is a foreign hellhole.
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Erwin Chemerinsky and Laurence H. Tribe
The New York Times
Trump is seeking to establish a truly chilling proposition: that no one can stop his administration from imprisoning anyone it wants... If the government can disappear any people it wishes, we all should be very, very afraid.
The destruction of habeas corpus—the constitutional protection against unlawful imprisonment by a state court—may be the most tragic development of the modern legal era.
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