United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court

History

April 1996 to June 2026

The court was created by Section 401 of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. §§ 1531–1537). For 30 years after its creation in 1996, the ATRC had conducted no proceedings because no Attorney General had applied for removal proceedings there. While the constitutionality of the ATRC has not been ruled on, legal scholars have speculated that it was left dormant over due process concerns surrounding the possible use of secret evidence in its proceedings.

In re Zada (July 2026 to September 2026)

On July 15, 2026, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche submitted the court's first application. Later, on July 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) posted a press release, which specified "Nazira Haji Zada, 47, residing in Fort Worth, Texas," as the person whose removal is sought before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. Zada is the mother and mother-in-law, respectively, of two Afghan nationals who were convicted in 2024 for their involvement in a foiled Islamic State terror plot. Zada herself was not charged in connection with the plot, but DOJ alleges that she "supported" the plot and "pledged loyalty to ISIS." Matthew Farley, the attorney representing Zada, asked the court for her release from immigration detention and alleged that the "entire [Alien Terrorist Removal Court] scheme is in violation of due process and unconstitutional."

In September 2026, the court issued an order of removal against Nazira Haji Zada. She was subsequently removed to Afghanistan after conceding to her designation as an "alien terrorist" and waiving her right to appeal. This was the first successful DOJ-litigated case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court since the creation of the court by Congress over three decades earlier.

Current

As of 2026:

Former

As of 2026: