Overview
- The Justice Department submitted the court’s first-ever application last Wednesday and kept the filing sealed with a cover sheet marking it classified.
- Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen held a closed hearing, said the government’s explanations left unanswered legal and factual questions, and ordered the DOJ to provide more detail by Wednesday.
- The Alien Terrorist Removal Court statute requires a private probable-cause review of sealed material followed, if approved, by a public removal hearing where the government must prove the person is an “alien terrorist.”
- The petition does not name the respondent and Reuters, AP and other outlets report the identity and most evidence remain secret, a feature that legal scholars warn raises due-process and constitutional concerns.
- Court Watch researcher Seamus Hughes first disclosed the filing and lawyers say the case could prompt litigation over classified evidence, set a precedent for wider deportation efforts, and change how the government handles national-security removals.