Justice Department activates untested court for 'alien terrorist'
deportations
[July 20, 2026]
By ERIC TUCKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has filed a first-ever
petition to a secretive and dormant court created 30 years ago to
consider government requests to deport so-called “alien terrorists” from
the United States.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established in 1996 but had never
received a petition until this past Wednesday, when the Justice
Department filed an application seeking the removal of an individual
whose name is withheld from the single-page document posted on the
court’s website.
The chief judge of the five-member court, Joan Ericksen, said in a
written response to the petition that a hearing was held on Thursday
during which the court had “questions about the nexus that the
government alleges between the actions of the respondent and the
specific sections and subsections it invokes with respect to those
actions.
“The answers persuaded the Court that the Government could benefit from
the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration,” wrote Ericksen, a
federal judge in Minnesota.
She directed the Justice Department to provide more information by
Wednesday.
The court's authorities emerged from the Antiterrorism and Effective
Death Penalty Act of 1996, which permits the attorney general to file
under seal applications for the deportation of a suspected “alien
terrorist.” If an application is granted, the court must hold a public
hearing at which the government has the burden to prove that the
individual satisfies that definition. Applications must be approved by
the attorney general or deputy attorney general.
Federal law says that an individual could qualify as an “alien
terrorist” by, among other factors, having “engaged in a terrorist
activity,” endorsing or espousing terrorist activities and by belonging
to a political or social group that encourages terrorist activity.
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The U.S. Department of Justice building is seen in Washington,
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
The court has been dormant since its creation, having received —
until last week — no applications and conducting no hearings,
according to a summary posted on the Federal Judicial Center
website. It is comprised of five judges selected by Chief Justice
John Roberts.
The Trump administration has moved aggressively over the last year
to carry out deportations, including invoking a 1798 wartime law,
the Alien Enemies Act, to remove Venezuelan migrants who officials
accuse of being part of a terrorist gang. During a hearing in that
case last year, the Washington judge presiding over it, James
Boasberg, indicated that the Alien Terrorist Removal Court would be
the natural forum to consider a request for deportation on national
security grounds.
“In fact, Congress has an answer for us, doesn’t it? Because they
created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court,” he said. “So if there's
a national security concern with having these hearings...you can
always go to the ATRC, which would be a first, but that’s what it’s
there for, right?”
The petition was first reported by Court Watch, an independent news
site
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