An Afghan woman residing in Fort Worth, Texas, has become the first individual to face deportation through a rarely used court established to handle cases involving terrorism. This development marks the activation of a judicial body that has been dormant for three decades, according to recent court documents.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court is set to convene in Washington, D.C., to deliberate on the U.S. government’s request to deport Nazira Haji Zada. Arrested earlier this week, Nazira is accused of supporting an Islamic State-inspired plot within the United States.
An FBI memorandum dated July 15 reveals that Nazira is believed to have endorsed the extremist group by encouraging her children to pledge allegiance to it. The memo further alleges her involvement in a plan orchestrated by relatives to execute an ISIS-inspired attack in the U.S.
Court documents identify Nazira as the mother and mother-in-law of two Afghan men implicated in a conspiracy to disrupt the 2024 Election Day. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, received a 15-year prison sentence last November and has agreed to deportation following his release. Meanwhile, her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who previously worked as a security guard at a U.S. military site in Afghanistan, confessed to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group. Prosecutors assert that he took concrete steps to further his attack plans, including purchasing AK-47 rifles, liquidating family assets, and securing one-way tickets for his wife and child to Afghanistan.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court, established in 1996, had not been utilized until the Justice Department filed its first petition this month, seeking Nazira’s removal. Supporting documents were publicly released on Wednesday night, ahead of the Thursday hearing.
This court has the unique authority to conduct deportation proceedings for individuals designated by the Justice Department as “alien terrorists.” It comprises five federal judges from various districts, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, with all sessions currently held at a federal courthouse in Washington.
“Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court three decades ago to remove from the United States alien terrorists who never should have been here in the first place,” stated acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. He further emphasized that the allegations illustrate a family’s involvement in a significant threat to national security, underscoring the Department’s position that “terrorists have no place in the United States of America.”
