Washington, D.C. Internal White House memos show President Donald Trump’s advisers discussed aggressive immigration powers that a senior lawyer warned could trigger a major constitutional fight.
According to the Washington Examiner and excerpts published by the New York Times, White House staff secretary Will Scharf wrote memos in 2025 addressing proposals tied to Trump’s deportation agenda. One memo examined whether the administration could suspend habeas corpus, the legal right that allows detained people to challenge their confinement before a judge.
Scharf wrote that habeas corpus protects against arbitrary detention and noted that the Constitution allows suspension only in cases of “rebellion or invasion.” He also warned that courts have generally viewed Congress, not the president alone, as holding that power.
The issue had been raised publicly by White House adviser Stephen Miller, who said in 2025 that the administration was “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus for some immigration cases.
A second memo addressed the Insurrection Act, which allows presidents to deploy military forces domestically under limited circumstances. Scharf described it as a “break-the-glass exception” and warned that litigation could delay or undercut any claimed benefit.
The proposals were not implemented, but Trump’s immigration detention policies have continued to face extensive court challenges.
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