A little-known federal court that has been gathering dust for 30 years is finally being put to use by the Trump administration for its originally intended purpose. The U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC) was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, in the aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The ATRC was designed to remove illegal aliens charged with terrorism in cases involving classified information that could otherwise not be heard in a regular court.
The first use of the ATRC took place last week, involving an Afghani woman in Fort Worth who is charged with helping her son and son-in-law with a planned ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in 2024. Nazira Haji Zada is facing an order to be deported back to Afghanistan. Her son and son-in-law already pled guilty to terrorism charges and face removal after completion of their jail sentences.
The Trump administration is touting the first-time use of the ATRC. FBI Director Kash Patel called it “a historic step,” adding it shows that the administration “will not hesitate to use all available resources to protect the American people.” Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche echoed that sentiment, saying the use of this court “makes clear that terrorists have no place in the United States of America.”
Jeffrey Addicott, director of the Warrior Defense Project at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, says one reason the ATRC has not been used is because most high-profile terror cases since 9-11 involved American citizens. “We have other tools we can use to prosecute and remove terrorists that we have used over the years,” he tells KTRH. “It is kind of surprising this is the first time this has been done…but I think once we’ve set this as the standard, we can start to utilize this court more often.”
The need to use the ATRC is likely to increase now that there have been several known terror suspects who entered the country illegally during the Joe Biden presidency. “Our enemies want to do us harm, no question about it,” says Addicott. “And then we have a political party (Democrats) that has no problem with a wide-open border.”
“We know that this court wasn’t going to be used under a Democrat administration, for obvious reasons,” he continues. “But the Trump administration is using every tool in the toolbox to get rid of individuals that do not belong in this country, particularly those that engage in terrorist activities.”