CNBC54%
Justice Department activates court for 'alien terrorist' deportations 19%
By The Associated Press63%
7/19/2026, 8:34:35 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 11 faulty reasoning types, including Unattributed Quote, Ambiguity (Equivocation), and Burden of Proof, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 16.6% saturation with 77 hits. Analysis detected 396 faulty-reasoning hits from 465 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 33.5% and a BS Rank of 19% (17,930 of 21,886 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 81.90% of the article peer group.
The Trump administration has filed a first-ever petition to a secretive and dormant court created 30 years ago to consider government requests to deport so-called "alien terrorists" from the United States.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established in 1996 but had never received a petition until this past Wednesday, when the Justice Department filed an application seeking the removal of an individual whose name is withheld from the single-page document posted on the court's website.
The chief judge of the five-member court, Joan Ericksen, said in a written response to the petition that a hearing was held on Thursday during which the court had "questions about the nexus that the government alleges between the actions of the respondent and the specific sections and subsections it invokes with respect to those actions.
"The answers persuaded the Court that the Government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration," wrote Ericksen, a federal judge in Minnesota.
She directed the Justice Department to provide more information by Wednesday.
The court's authorities emerged from the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which permits the attorney general to file under seal applications for the deportation of a suspected "alien terrorist."
If an application is granted, the court must hold a public hearing at which the government bears the burden of proving 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 belonging to a political or social group that encourages terrorist activity.
The court has been dormant since its creation, having received — until last week — no applications and conducting no hearings, according to a summary posted on the Federal Judicial Center website.
It is comprised of five judges selected by Chief Justice John Roberts.
The Trump administration has moved aggressively over the last year to carry out deportations, including invoking a 1798 wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to remove Venezuelan migrants whom officials accuse of being part of a terrorist gang.
During a hearing in that case last year, the Washington judge presiding over it, James Boasberg, indicated that the Alien Terrorist Removal Court would be the natural forum for considering a deportation request on national security grounds.
"In fact, Congress has an answer for us, doesn't it?
Because they created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court," he said.
"So if there's a national security concern with having these hearings...you can always go to the ATRC, which would be a first, but that's what it's there for, right?"
The petition was first reported by Court Watch, an independent news site.
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62%flagged-word coverageJoan Ericksen
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