Trump administration activates dormant court for ‘alien terrorist’ deportations

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 US.

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC) was established in 1996 but had never received a petition until Wednesday, when the US 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.

Joan Ericksen, the chief judge of the five-member court, 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”.

Ericksen, a federal judge in Minnesota, wrote: “The answers persuaded the court that the government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration.”

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 so-called “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.

The court has been dormant since its creation, having received no applications and conducting no hearings until the case filed on Wednesday, according to a summary posted on the Federal Judicial Center website. It is overseen by five judges selected by John Roberts, the US chief justice.

Since the start of his second presidency in early 2025, Donald Trump and his administration have moved aggressively 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 2025 hearing in that case, the Washington DC federal judge James Boasberg indicated that the ATRC 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 Seamus Hughes of Court Watch, an independent news site.