In a historic, first-of-its-kind maneuver designed to bypass the gridlock of activist immigration courts, the Department of Justice has officially activated a powerful, 30-year-old national security weapon to aggressively deport suspected foreign terrorists from American soil. The DOJ filed a petition before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC) to remove an as-yet unidentified person accused of being a terrorist. The ATRC was created by Congress in 1996, during the Clinton administration, and has never heard a case in its 30-year history.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors ended three decades of bureaucratic dormancy by filing the first-ever application with the secretive Alien Terrorist Removal Court. The emergency wartime tool—originally signed into law during Speaker Newt Gingrich’s Congress in 1996 but left buried by previous administrations—empowers the executive branch to present classified intelligence directly to a specialized panel of federal judges under tight seal, completely cutting through the red tape and endless appeals favored by open-borders advocates.
The unprecedented legal assault signals that the administration is ready to wage total institutional warfare against the suspected radical jihadists and transnational gang operatives who capitalized on years of open-border policies. While globalist NGOs and left-wing legal networks are already raising a fury over “due process,” the historic filing signals a clear message to the world: the era of weaponized loopholes is officially over, and dangerous noncitizens are running out of places to hide.
ATRC Chief Judge Joan Ericksen reviewed the DOJ’s petition on July 16 and ordered the government to provide additional facts and legal analysis before acting on the petition, according to court records reviewed by Breitbart News. The judge ordered the DOJ to provide the information by Wednesday.
The application published on the ATRC website is completely redacted. The alleged terrorist and specific threats are not disclosed.
The ARTC is an Article III court composed of five fully credentialed federal judges who have been confirmed by the Senate. Rulings made by the court are subject to appeal through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court.
This court and its authority have been untested in the legal system, as this is the first-ever case brought for consideration. It was created by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. AP stated the DOJ can bring an action for deportation against a suspected terrorist. The article continues:
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.
This court could be used to take action against nearly 4o0 illegal aliens who were admitted to the U.S. during the Biden-era border crisis. Additionally, it could be used to remove other aliens living in the United States who have ties to or express support for terrorist groups, including Mexican and Venezuelan cartels and gangs that are designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
As the Department of Justice prepares its final brief for Judge Ericksen, the ultimate fate of this untested national security weapon hangs in the balance. If the administration successfully clears this first judicial hurdle, the upcoming public hearing will pull back the curtain on a hidden threat—and set an ironclad legal precedent for the rapid expulsion of hundreds of watchlisted individuals who slipped through the cracks during the Biden-era border collapse.
By transforming a forgotten 1996 statute into an active frontline defense, the administration is bringing all of its legal arsenal to bear against the transnational gangs, cartels, and radical jihadists who mistook American sovereignty for a weakness. For decades, globalist lawyers used the gridlock of activist immigration courts to shelter dangerous noncitizens; but with the resurrection of the ATRC, those weaponized loopholes are slamming shut. This court could give the executive branch the tools it needs to put American security first.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.