The Trump administration has activated the long-dormant United States "alien terrorist" removal court for the first time, seeking the deportation of an Afghan woman accused of supporting an Islamic State-linked terrorism plot involving her son and son-in-law. What Is the ‘Alien Terrorist’ Court? The case marks the first proceeding before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a specialized five-judge tribunal Congress created under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. Although established nearly three decades ago, the court remained dormant until the Justice Department filed the Haji Zada case in July 2026. “Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court three decades ago to remove from the United States alien terrorists who never should have been here in the first place,” Blanche said in a statement.