Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, bungled answers on Tuesday about habeas corpus, incorrectly asserting that the legal right of people to challenge their detention by the government was actually the president’s “constitutional right” to deport people.

As the Trump administration works to carry out its promised mass deportations, efforts that largely fall under Ms. Noem’s jurisdiction, officials have floated the idea of suspending habeas corpus for immigrants being expelled from the country.

At a Senate hearing, Senator Maggie Hassan, Democrat of New Hampshire, asked Ms. Noem about the issue. “Secretary Noem,” she asked, “what is habeas corpus?”

“Well,” Ms. Noem said, “habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their right to—”

“No,” Ms. Hassan interjected. “Let me stop you, ma’am. Excuse me, that’s incorrect.”

Ms. Noem’s answer, which echoed the Trump administration’s expansive view of presidential power, flipped the legal right on its head, turning a constitutional shield against unlawful detention into broad presidential authority.

Article I of the Constitution, which focuses on the powers of Congress, says that writs of habeas corpus are a privilege that “shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.” Legal experts generally agree that those directions give only Congress the authority to suspend it.