Trump Admin Now Pushing Fast-Track Deportations via Alien Terrorist Court

The Trump administration has filed an application to what's called the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court, the first such application since the Court was created in 1996. If this works, it gives the Trump administration another avenue to speed up deportations of dangerous illegal aliens.

NEWS: The Trump administration has activated a secretive and never-before-used legal process to quickly deport foreign nationals deemed to be “alien terrorists” or their immediate family members.

w/ @joshgerstein https://t.co/b5ohJ6hhvA pic.twitter.com/9ghueQbPGA
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 18, 2026

So far, though, the process isn't exactly promising smooth sailing.

The Justice Department submitted the first-ever application to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court — which has lain dormant since it was established by law in 1996 — with little notice earlier this week. The details of the July 15 application are sealed and an accompanying cover sheet indicates that the substance is classified.
The chief judge of the court, U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen, held a sealed hearing on the matter Thursday and subsequently issued an order asking the government to make a more “thoughtful” application.
“The government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration,” the Minnesota-based George W. Bush appointee wrote in her one-page order. She noted that she had lingering questions about the actions taken by the Justice Department target and how they connect to the laws providing for the removal of “alien terrorists.” An updated response is due Wednesday.

The scoop was reported first on Saturday by CourtWatch's Seamus Hughes, according to the Politico piece linked above.

So, not much to go on here, but even so, the process is already being challenged.

Many legal scholars have speculated that the anti-terrorism court has never been used because of questions about whether its procedures allowing for the use of secret evidence that deportation targets would never see provide enough due process to conform with the Constitution.

Of course, we can count on the pro-illegal alien Left to challenge this at every step.

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Politico's story, however, doesn't indicate who the legal scholars they mention are, or what their backgrounds might be. The issues around the court could seem to have to do with the process allowing the use of secret evidence, which deportees would not be able to challenge; this would seem to be a problem with the generally accepted due process.

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was set up as part of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. The Court is supposed to consist of five United States District Court judges, each to serve five-year renewable and staggered terms. The current court includes:

U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen, District of Minnesota, current Chief Judge of the court
U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGiusti, Western District of Oklahoma
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, District of Oregon
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi, Northern District of Ohio.

If this works, and that's anything but guaranteed at the moment, this could provide another vehicle to fast-track potentially dangerous illegal aliens being, to put it bluntly, given a good swift American boot in the tukhus out of the United States and back to where they came from. It's early in the day to speculate what might happen next in what looks to be a test case, but stay tuned; this will be one to watch.