Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old lawful permanent resident from Afghanistan, has been deported in the first-ever use of the secretive Alien Terrorist Removal Court. Accused of radicalizing her family and supporting a foiled 2024 Election Day terror plot, Haji Zada agreed to deportation rather than challenge the proceedings. Her attorneys condemned the court as unconstitutional, arguing that withholding classified evidence from the defense violates constitutional due process.
Alien Terrorist Removal Court
- ▪The Alien Terrorist Removal Court is composed of five federal judges from different districts across the United States who are appointed by the U.S. chief justice
- ▪The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was created by Congress in 1996 but had never heard a case or received any petitions before July 2026
- ▪The Alien Terrorist Removal Court has specific authority to conduct civil deportation proceedings for non-U.S. citizens whom the U.S. Justice Department classifies as 'alien terrorists'
Nazira Haji Zada deportation
- ▪Nazira Haji Zada signed an agreement on August 20, 2026, waiving her rights to challenge her detention, conceding she was an 'alien terrorist,' and agreeing to deportation
- ▪U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche praised the deportation of Nazira Haji Zada as a win for national security and the rule of law
- ▪Nazira Haji Zada came to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 2018, and her husband had worked at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2016
- ▪Senior U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen signed the removal order for Nazira Haji Zada on August 20, 2026, which remained sealed until after she reached Afghanistan
- ▪Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old Afghan citizen and lawful permanent resident living in Fort Worth, Texas, was deported to Afghanistan in September 2026
Constitutional due process challenges
- ▪Court-appointed public defenders Matthew Farley and Mary Manning Petras argued that the proceedings against Nazira Haji Zada violated her constitutional right to due process
- ▪Public defenders Matthew Farley and Mary Manning Petras stated that Nazira Haji Zada's consent to removal was not an endorsement of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court's legitimacy
- ▪Defense attorney Matthew Farley urged Judge Joan Ericksen during a July 30, 2026 hearing to dismiss the case and immediately release Nazira Haji Zada
Election Day terror plot
- ▪U.S. authorities accused Nazira Haji Zada of being the 'matriarch' who radicalized her family and supported an Islamic State-inspired plot to carry out a mass shooting on Election Day in 2024
- ▪Nazira Haji Zada's son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, pleaded guilty to conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State for the 2024 Election Day plot
- ▪Prosecutors alleged Nazira Haji Zada and her family raised funds for the 2024 Election Day plot by selling assets, and she planned to move to an ISIS-controlled location
- ▪Nazira Haji Zada's son, Abdullah Haji Zada, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the 2024 Election Day terror plot
Classified evidence procedures
- ▪Court-appointed lawyers for Nazira Haji Zada were denied access to the classified evidence used by the U.S. government to support her deportation
- ▪The Alien Terrorist Removal Court allows the U.S. Department of Justice to use classified evidence that poses a risk to national security to deport individuals
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