Justice Department Files First-Ever Case With Long-Dormant Alien Terrorist Removal Court

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed its first-ever case with the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a secretive tribunal Congress established in 1996 to allow the government to use classified evidence in deportation proceedings involving suspected terrorists. The court had never convened or received a petition in its roughly three-decade existence until the DOJ's filing, reported to have occurred the week of July 19, 2026. The case targets a woman living in Texas, described by multiple outlets as Afghan, whom prosecutors allege is an "alien terrorist" tied to a relative's involvement in a plot inspired by ISIS. She has not been charged with any crime. The DOJ is seeking her removal from the United States through this specialized court rather than through standard immigration or criminal proceedings, invoking the 1996 law for the first time to pursue a terrorism-linked deportation. Some reporting connects the filing to recent legal battles over deportation authority, noting that Judge Boasberg had previously referenced the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in another case, which one outlet frames as a factor in the administration's decision to activate the dormant tribunal. The hearing represents a test of a legal mechanism that has sat unused since its creation, with the classified-evidence provision central to how the government intends to make its case. As of the reporting, the case remains in its early stages, with the first-ever hearing before this court pending or newly underway. Sources do not agree on or fully specify the exact date the hearing itself took place, with publication dates for the coverage ranging from July 19 to July 30, 2026. It remains unresolved what specific evidence the government will present, what the woman's legal defense will argue, and how the proceeding—given its unprecedented use of classified evidence and lack of prior judicial precedent—will unfold or what outcome to expect.