Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old Afghan national who had lived in Fort Worth, Texas, as a lawful permanent resident, was removed from the United States after the first case brought before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. The Justice Department announced the removal on September 11, saying the court entered its order on August 20 and unsealed it after Haji Zada returned to Afghanistan. The order makes her permanently inadmissible to the United States.
The Justice Department alleged that Haji Zada supported an ISIS-inspired plan for a mass shooting around Election Day 2024 involving her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi. Abdullah was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Tawhedi pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offenses and was awaiting sentencing when the department announced her removal. Authorities said the attack was stopped after the men sought rifles and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee.
Haji Zada was not criminally charged. Reuters and The Associated Press reported that she agreed to removal with counsel, conceded that she was an “alien terrorist” under the removal statute and waived an appeal. Her federal public defenders said that consent should not be treated as an endorsement of the court and argued that relying on classified evidence unavailable to the defense violated due process.
Congress created the specialized court in 1996, but no administration had used it before this case. Its judges are federal district judges appointed to the court by the chief justice, and the governing statute allows classified evidence in removal proceedings while providing counsel and a route to appeal.
