Habeas corpus was a universal right under English common law (and statute). Anybody who was detained (including in preparation to deport them) could demand a he

Habeas corpus was a universal right under English common law (and statute). Anybody who was detained (including in preparation to deport them) could demand a hearing to determine whether that detention was lawful. Even if the sovereign had total discretion to deport aliens, there was still a requirement to show that the person was in fact an alien. And one of the 17th century habeas acts (1679?) had severe penalties for hustling somebody out of the country as a way of avoiding the hearing.