The Trump administration is using the claim that immigrants have “invaded” the country to justify possibly suspending habeas corpus, part of the constitutional right to due process. A faction of the far right has been building this case for years.

Kristi Noem gave an egregiously incorrect definition of the legal principle habeas corpus while testifying to senators Tuesday. “Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country,” President Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary said.