During a budget hearing at the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, Democratic New Hampshire Senator Margaret Hassan asked Noem what habeas corpus was. "Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country," Noem responded.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem appeared not to know what a key constitutional principle was Tuesday when being questioned about her department’s mass deportations of migrants at a Senate hearing.

Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem incorrectly responded to a question on the definition of habeas corpus during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.