US Justice Department files first-ever petition to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, unused since 1996
The Trump administration filed a petition to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court on July 19, using the secretive tribunal for the first time in its 30-year history; the court was created to deport non-citizens accused of terrorism without disclosing classified evidence to the suspect
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Summary
The US Justice Department filed a first-ever petition before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC), using a tribunal created in 1996 that had remained dormant for 30 years, per ABC News via AP. The first-ever ATRC hearing was subsequently convened; the presiding judge concluded the DOJ still had more work to do before the case can proceed, per LawDork's legal press account. The ATRC was established under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and is designed to allow the US government to deport non-citizens accused of terrorism using classified evidence that is not disclosed to the subject, bypassing the standard US immigration court system. The identity of the person named in the petition was not made public. The Trump administration has since 2025 expanded its use of national security legal tools to accelerate immigration enforcement.
Why it matters
The ATRC activation is the first time in the court's existence that its extraordinary procedures, which allow the government to present secret evidence in a deportation case, will be tested. If the petition proceeds, it would set a legal precedent for how classified evidence can be used in immigration removal cases, a question US courts have not had to resolve with this specific mechanism.
What to watch
- Whether the ATRC accepts the petition and schedules a hearing
- Court filings that may reveal more about the subject of the petition
- Legal challenges from civil liberties groups on the ATRC's secret-evidence procedures
- Congressional reaction, particularly from members who have scrutinised immigration enforcement expansion