The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is seeking to use the Alien Terrorist Removal Court for the first time in a deportation case involving an Afghan woman alleged to have ties to a terror plot. The court, created in 1996, has remained dormant for nearly 30 years and has never held a proceeding until now, according to reporting from multiple news outlets.
Prosecutors allege that the woman, identified in reports as Nazira Haji Zada, is an “alien terrorist” connected to an alleged plot. The invocation of the specialized court represents the first test case for the secretive legal proceeding designed specifically to handle terrorism-related removal cases for foreign nationals.
The court was established decades ago but has never been convened, making this case a significant and unprecedented application of the legal framework. Details regarding the specific allegations and the nature of the reported Election Day plot remain part of the ongoing proceedings.
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