Trump administration files the first case in the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court seeking deportation of Afghan woman tied to Election Day plot

President Donald Trump’s administration has brought what it said is the first case in the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court, seeking to deport an Afghan woman prosecutors say supported an ISIS-inspired plan to kill people on Election Day in 2024, according to reporting by The Washington Times.

The government’s filing centers on the Afghan woman, described in the report as tied to her son’s plot. Prosecutors allege she provided support connected to the plan, which they characterize as inspired by ISIS and designed to attack people on Election Day 2024, the report said.

Under the approach described by the report, the administration is using a specialized court process for alien terrorist removal. The reported action is framed as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to accelerate removal proceedings in terrorism-related immigration cases, and it is being presented as the first such case brought in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.

The report places the case in the context of the administration’s election-security focus, highlighting that the alleged conduct was linked to a plot intended to target people during Election Day activities in 2024. It also identifies the defendant’s alleged relationship to the person charged with carrying out, or attempting to carry out, the ISIS-inspired plot.

The filing also indicates how the administration intends to handle contested facts in terrorism-related immigration enforcement. In this type of case, the government’s ability to proceed depends on the court’s jurisdiction and the government’s evidentiary showing, while the affected individual can challenge the factual basis for removal and contest the application of the court process, the report implies through its focus on a new specialized removal pathway.

A key procedural detail in the report is timing: the case is the “first” in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, which suggests the administration is testing the new forum’s operation in practice. The practical effect, if the government prevails, would be the removal of the individual to a country of removal as determined through the immigration process, along with any associated custody and travel restrictions while the case is pending.

The next step in the matter will be the court’s handling of the government’s request, including any hearings, legal briefing, and rulings on whether the specialized removal court process applies and whether the government meets its burden for removal in the case, as described generally by the reporting on the filing.