Among the responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security is running the civics test that immigrants need to pass to become U.S. citizens.

And this week, the head of that department, Secretary Christy Noem got her own pop quiz on civics.

Good morning. Good morning. Madam Secretary. This was at a Senate hearing. and this question came from Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.

So, Secretary, Noam, what is habeas corpus?

Well, habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their right to.

Let me stop you, ma'am.

Habeas corpus,

excuse me, that's incorrect. It is indeed incorrect. As Hassen goes on to lay out,

habeas corpus is the legal principle enshrined in the Constitution that protects people from illegal detention. The reason that this bit of Latin is currently under discussion is because the

Trump administration says it's considering suspending habeas corpus. Deputy White House Chief of

Staff, Stephen Miller said this to reporters earlier this month. Well, the Constitution is clear,

and that, of course, is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of

habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion. So I would say that's an option we're actively

looking at. Habius corpus has been at the center of the legal fights over President Trump's

mass deportation plan. Some of his actions have been temporarily blocked by courts over concerns that immigrants

didn't have enough opportunity to challenge their deportation through habeas corpus petitions.

And Miller seemed to suggest that suspending habeas corpus was a way to get around the courts.

Look, a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.

Consider this.

habeas corpus is a principle that's hundreds of years older than America itself.

What would it mean if the president suspended it?

And could he under the Constitution?

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