The Trump administration has made its first attempt to use the Alien Terrorist Removal Court to deport an unnamed undocumented immigrant suspected of terrorism. The move matters because the specialised court, created nearly 30 years ago, has never previously heard a case and could become a new legal route for terrorism-related deportations.

The Justice Department filed an application for a removal order on 15 July under a little-used law designed for suspected terrorist aliens. The court gained attention during the administration’s broader deportation dispute after Judge James Boasberg referred to it as a potential lawful mechanism, prompting renewed interest in what critics have called a “zombie” court.