White House ‘looking at’ ending habeas corpus — but most voters want it, poll finds

Most Americans support the right of habeas corpus, according to a new poll, which comes after President Donald Trump’s administration considered suspending it.

In the latest YouGov/Economist survey, 60% of respondents said they support habeas corpus — which guarantees individuals the right to challenge their detention in court. A far smaller share, 16%, said they opposed this right.

However, responses varied based on partisanship. A majority of Democrats, 75%, said they favored the right of habeas corpus, while just 10% opposed it. Similarly, 61% of independents favored it, while 12% were opposed.

In contrast, less than half of Republicans, 44%, said they supported the right, while 27% came out against it.

Putting partisan differences aside, majorities of all other demographics — including across racial, age and gender lines — said they supported the right.

The poll — which sampled 1,710 U.S. adults May 16-19 — was conducted about one week after Trump adviser Stephen Miller said that the White House was looking into suspending habeas corpus in its effort to crackdown on illegal immigration.

“The constitution is clear,” Miller told reporters on May 9. “The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion, so it’s an option we’re actively looking at.”

He was referencing Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which states, “Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

Throughout American history, habeas corpus has only been suspended on four occasions, some of which provoked controversy, according to the National Constitution Center. These occurred during the Civil War, during the Reconstruction Era in South Carolina, amid an insurrection in the Philippines — once a U.S. colony — and in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Whether or not the White House will move to suspend the right again “depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not,” Miller said.

His comments come after multiple judges have blocked parts of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, including by issuing nationwide injunctions that have temporarily halted deportations.

For example, in April the Supreme Court temporarily blocked Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport a group of Venezuelan immigrants — some of whom have been sent to a prison in El Salvador. The court’s order prevented additional deportations from taking place until lower courts can determine whether the federal government provided due process to targeted individuals.

The poll was also released the same day Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified on Capitol Hill about the administration’s deportation policies, during which she specifically addressed habeas corpus.

Asked by New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan to define the legal right, Noem said, “Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”

Hassan, a Democrat, interjected, saying, “That’s incorrect…Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people. If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason.”

The senator added that the right “separates free societies like America from police states like North Korea.”

This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 11:05 AM with the headline "White House ‘looking at’ ending habeas corpus — but most voters want it, poll finds."