United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court of the United States is a special court within the federal judiciary, created to hear removal proceedings against foreign nationals who are alleged to be terrorists. Congress established it through Section 401 of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, and it sits in Washington, D.C. Its bench consists of five Article III judges, each assigned to it by the Chief Justice of the United States. Appeals from its orders go to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and, if certiorari is granted, to the Supreme Court. For thirty years after its creation the court conducted no proceedings, because no Attorney General applied for a removal there, and legal scholars have suggested that due process concerns about the possible use of secret evidence kept it dormant. In 2026 the Department of Justice filed the first application, concerning Nazira Haji Zada, and the court issued an order of removal in September 2026 after she conceded her designation and waived her right to appeal.