Habeas is the oldest safeguard against arbitrary imprisonment, predating the Constitution itself.
Habeas corpus lets anyone the government locks up demand that a judge decide whether the detention is lawful.
The Constitution allows suspension only in rebellion or invasion — a line tested during the Civil War and the war on terror.
A detainee (or someone acting for them) files a habeas petition asking a court to review the detention.
The government must justify the imprisonment; if it can't, the court orders release or a new proceeding.
A look at the rules, oversight gaps, and policy debate behind health care for people in U.S. immigration custody.
Read the guide →Lawmakers are weighing whether to write binding medical-care rules for immigration detention into federal law, replacing agency-administered guidelines.
Read the brief →