It is all spelled out clearly in the language of the law that this body passed. In November. the scenario I spelled out was confirmed by the Department of Justice itself in a legal brief submitted in a Federal court in Virginia. The Justice Department. in a brief to dismiss a detainees habeas case. said that the Military Commissions Act allows the Government to detain any noncitizen designated an enemy combatant without giving that person any ability to challenge his detention In court. This is true. the Justice Department said. even for someone arrested and imprisoned in the United States. The Washington Post wrote that the brief "raises the possibility that any of the millions of immigrants living in the United States could be subject to indefinite detention if they are accused of ties to terrorist groups." In fact. the situation is even more stark than The Washington Post story suggested. The Justice Departments brief says that the Government can detain any noncitizen declared to be an enemy combatant. But the law this Congress passed says the Government need not even make that declaration: They can hold people indefinitely who are awaiting determination whether or not they are enemy combatants. It gets worse.
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immigrants noncitizen