The Justice Department filed the first-ever petition to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court on Wednesday seeking the removal of an individual.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established in 1996 and had never received a petition until Wednesday; it is a five-judge panel whose members are selected by John Roberts, the U.S. chief justice.
Joan Ericksen, the court's chief judge and a federal judge in Minnesota, said 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" and wrote, "The answers persuaded the court that the government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration."
The court's authorities come from the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which permits the attorney general to file under seal applications for deportation; the statute requires a public hearing if an application is granted, places the burden on the government to prove the individual meets the law's definition, and says applications must be approved by the attorney general or deputy attorney general.
Federal law says an individual may qualify as an "alien terrorist" by, among other factors, having "engaged in a terrorist activity," endorsing or espousing terrorist activities, or belonging to a political or social group that encourages terrorist activity.
The statute creates a two-stage process: in private one judge decides whether there is probable cause, and at a public hearing the Justice Department must show it is more likely than not that the person meets the definition; even at the public stage classified evidence can be withheld from the person and the public, though the department must provide an unclassified summary.
Normal federal evidence rules do not apply in these proceedings and the law explicitly allows the U.S. to use illegally obtained evidence; a 9/11 Commission staff report said the Justice Department considered 100 possible cases by 2000 and rejected all of them.
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act in 2025 to remove Venezuelans the administration accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, and the Supreme Court ruled that people targeted under that law must receive notice and a chance to challenge their removal; during that litigation James Boasberg, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., said, "In fact, Congress has an answer for us, doesn't it? Because they created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court."
The Justice Department's initial filing was a one-page document posted on the court's website that did not name the person, the alleged conduct or the part of the law cited.
Seamus Hughes of Court Watch first reported the filing.
If the Justice Department wins, the court could allow removals while keeping much of its evidence secret; a loss could show why the court sat idle for 30 years because the law may demand more than the government wants to provide.