Indefinite Military Detention. During consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; H.R. 2500), Representative Justin Amash (R-Mich.) introduced an amendment to prohibit the indefinite military detention of any person (including American citizens) detained in the United States, its territories, or its possessions under the Authorization for the Use of Military Force or the NDAA. Instead, such persons would be immediately transferred from military detention for trial and afforded “all the due process as provided for under the Constitution.”
The House rejected Amash’s amendment on July 12, 2019 by a vote of 187 to 236 (Roll Call 460). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because indefinite detention without trial is a serious violation of long-cherished legal protections, including the right to habeas corpus, the issuance of a warrant based on probable cause (Fourth Amendment), and the right to a “speedy and public” trial (Sixth Amendment).
