A special federal court created by Congress in 1996 has received its first removal application, but the presiding judge ordered the Justice Department to provide additional evidence and legal analysis by July 22.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
A rarely discussed federal court established three decades ago to oversee the removal of suspected alien terrorists has opened its first case after remaining unused since its creation.
The Department of Justice submitted the inaugural application to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court on July 15, and the court held its first hearing the following day, according to The Epoch Times.
The case involves an unnamed foreign national whom the Trump administration is seeking to remove from the United States as an alleged terrorist. Publicly available court documents do not identify the individual or disclose the specific accusations.
Judge Joan Ericksen, who presides over the court, said in a July 16 order that attorneys presented arguments during the initial hearing but that no sworn testimony was taken. The court also reviewed information submitted by the administration.
Ericksen said the hearing raised questions about whether the government had adequately connected its factual allegations to the statutory provisions cited in support of removal.
“The answers persuaded the Court that the Government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration,” the order stated.
She directed the Justice Department to supplement its application with additional factual and legal analysis addressing the matters discussed during the hearing.
The deadline for that submission is July 22.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was created through the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, a broad federal law enacted to strengthen the government’s ability to respond to international terrorism.
Under the statute, the government bears the burden of proving that the person named in an application qualifies as an alien terrorist.
Congress authorized the chief justice of the United States to appoint five federal district judges from separate judicial circuits to serve on the court. The judges receive staggered, renewable five-year appointments.
The current members are Ericksen, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in the Eighth Circuit, who has served since 2023; Timothy DeGiusti, of the Western District of Oklahoma in the 10th Circuit, appointed in 2025; Kenneth Karas, of the Southern District of New York in the Second Circuit, appointed in 2022; Sara Lioi, of the Northern District of Ohio in the Sixth Circuit, appointed in 2025; and Karin Immergut, of the District of Oregon in the Ninth Circuit, who began serving this year.
The attorney general is responsible for preparing and filing applications with the court under seal.
A single judge may approve an application when the government has properly identified the person as an alien terrorist and shown that attempting removal through other available legal procedures could endanger national security.
Approval of an application does not automatically result in deportation. Once an application is accepted, the court must conduct a public removal hearing.
The person facing removal has the right to legal representation and may present arguments and evidence in defense.
The government must also prepare an unclassified summary of its allegations and supporting evidence. One of the court’s judges must determine that the summary contains enough information to allow the accused person to prepare an adequate defense.
A removal order may be issued only if the Justice Department satisfies its burden of proof.
The law also establishes an appellate process. The attorney general may challenge a judge’s refusal to accept an application, while either the government or the person facing removal may appeal an unfavorable ruling issued after the public hearing.
Those appeals are heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The Justice Department had not responded by publication time to requests for information about the unidentified person, the allegations or the decision to invoke the court’s authority for the first time.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court also had not responded to a request for comment about receiving its first application since Congress established it in 1996.
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