WASHINGTON– The Trump administration first filed a petition with a secretive, dormant court created 30 years ago to consider government requests to deport so-called “alien terrorists” from the United States.

The Foreign Terrorist Removal Court was established in 1996, but had never received a petition until last Wednesday, when the Justice Department filed a request seeking the removal of an individual whose name does not appear in the single-page document posted on the court’s website.

The five-member court’s chief judge, Joan Ericksen, said in a written response to the petition that a hearing was held Thursday during which the court had “questions about the nexus the government alleges between the defendant’s actions and the specific sections and subsections it invokes with respect to those actions.”

“The responses persuaded the Court that the Government could benefit from the opportunity for further consideration,” wrote Ericksen, a federal judge in Minnesota.

She ordered the Justice Department to provide more information by Wednesday.

The court’s authorities arose from the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which allows the attorney general to file under seal requests for the deportation of a suspected “foreign terrorist.” If a request is granted, the court must hold a public hearing at which the government has the burden of showing that the individual meets that definition. Applications must be approved by the attorney general or deputy attorney general.

Federal law says an individual could qualify as a “foreign terrorist” by, among other factors, having “engaged in terrorist activity,” supporting or defending terrorist activity, and belonging to a political or social group that promotes terrorist activity.

The court has been inactive since its creation, having not, as of last week, received any applications or held hearings, according to a summary posted on the Federal Judicial Center website. It is made up of five justices selected by Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Trump administration has moved aggressively over the past year to carry out deportations, including invoking a wartime law from 1798, the Alien Enemies Act, to expel Venezuelan immigrants whom officials accuse of being part of a terrorist gang. During a hearing in that case last year, presiding Washington Judge James Boasberg indicated that the Foreign Terrorist Removal Court would be the natural forum to consider a request for deportation on national security grounds.

“Congress actually has an answer for us, right? Because they created the Foreign Terrorist Removal Court,” he said. “So if there is a national security concern about having these hearings… you can always go to the ATRC, which would be a novelty, but that’s what it’s there for, right?”

The petition was first reported by Court Watch, an independent news site.