696
Opinion of the Court
tion's armor." Kwong Hai Chew, 344 U. S., at 602. Neither do we consider terrorism or other special circumstances where special arguments might be made for forms of preventive detention and for heightened deference to the judgments of the political branches with respect to matters of national security. The sole foreign policy consideration the Government mentions here is the concern lest courts interfere with "sensitive" repatriation negotiations. Brief for Respondents in No. 99-7791, at 21. But neither the Government nor the dissents explain how a habeas court's efforts to determine the likelihood of repatriation, if handled with appropriate sensitivity, could make a significant difference in this respect. See infra, at 699-700.
Finally, the Government argues that, whatever liberty interest the aliens possess, it is "greatly diminished" by their lack of a legal right to "liv[e] at large in this country." Brief for Respondents in No. 99-7791, at 47; see also post, at 703 (Scalia, J., dissenting) (characterizing right at issue as "right to release into this country"). The choice, however, is not between imprisonment and the alien "living at large." Brief for Respondents in No. 99-7791, at 47. It is between imprisonment and supervision under release conditions that may not be violated. See supra, at 695 (citing 8 U. S. C. §§ 1231(a)(3), 1253 (1994 ed., Supp. V)); 8 CFR § 241.5 (2001) (establishing conditions of release after removal period). And, for the reasons we have set forth, we believe that an alien's liberty interest is, at the least, strong enough to raise a serious question as to whether, irrespective of the procedures used, cf. post, at 722-724 (Kennedy, J., dissenting), the Constitution permits detention that is indefinite and potentially permanent.
B
Despite this constitutional problem, if "Congress has made its intent" in the statute "clear, 'we must give effect to that intent.' " Miller v. French, 530 U. S. 327, 336 (2000) (quoting Sinclair Refining Co. v. Atkinson, 370 U. S. 195, 215 (1962)).
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