A woman who had been living as a permanent resident in Fort Worth has been deported to Afghanistan after admitting she was an “alien terrorist,” marking the first time a specialized federal court created by Congress three decades ago has ever been used to remove someone from the country.
Nazira Haji Zada, 47, was sent back to Afghanistan following a case before the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC), a body Congress established in 1996 but that had never before been used to complete a removal, according to the Department of Justice. Zada waived her right to appeal after admitting to the court that she qualified as an alien terrorist. A removal order was issued on Aug. 20, and she is now barred from returning to the United States.
The case grew out of an alleged Election Day 2024 plot tied to Zada’s family. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were arrested in October 2024 after allegedly buying guns and ammunition from an undercover FBI agent. The two men later admitted to purchasing AK-47 rifles to carry out a mass shooting on behalf of the Islamic State group, according to the DOJ. Abdullah Haji Zada was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and Tawhedi is awaiting sentencing.
According to the DOJ, the family had begun selling off their possessions to raise money for the planned attack and had bought one-way tickets to Kabul for everyone except Zada’s son and Tawhedi.
Officials call it a landmark case
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the removal was “a win for national security and the rule of law.”
“Those who support and condone terrorism should not be living in the United States, and this first-ever case before the ATRC shows how the Department of Justice will use every tool at its disposal to protect our country,” Blanche said.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the deportation as a “historic and vitally important step” in efforts to protect the country from terrorism.
“An individual who supported a plot by ISIS-sympathizing family members to commit an attack in America has paid the price for that. She came to our country, betrayed it, and has now lost the right to live here and enjoy our democratic freedoms,” Patel said.
Defense questions the court’s legitimacy
Zada’s attorneys pushed back on the outcome, saying her decision to consent to removal should not be read as acceptance of the court’s authority.
“Dragging lawful permanent residents into court but refusing to show them or their attorneys the evidence that will be used against them is a plain violation of due process,” the defense lawyers said in a statement Friday. “We are confident that the Alien Terrorist Removal Court will be struck down as unconstitutional as soon as a judge is asked to address the issue.”
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was authorized by Congress in 1996 but had sat unused until this case. Zada’s deportation represents its first successful application, a development federal officials are pointing to as a model for future national security cases even as her attorneys signal a legal fight over the court’s constitutionality is likely to follow.
