Key facts
- An Afghan woman with legal US permanent residency, Nazira Haji Zada, has been deported.
- This is the first case heard by the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.
- Haji Zada chose to leave the US rather than continue arguing her case.
- The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was created in 1996.
- Haji Zada was accused of being the 'matriarch' of a group that radicalized her family.
- Her son and son-in-law were convicted of plot to carry out a mass shooting on Election Day in 2024.
An Afghan woman with legal permanent residency in the US has been deported in the first-ever use of the secretive Alien Terrorist Removal Court. Nazira Haji Zada, 47, opted to leave the country rather than continue her legal battle before the court, which was established in 1996 but had not previously heard a case.
The court is intended for non-US citizens facing terrorism-related charges where evidence is confidential and linked to national security. Haji Zada's lawyers argued that the proceedings violated her constitutional right to due process, as they were denied access to the evidence against her.
While Haji Zada was never formally charged with a crime, prosecutors had successfully convicted her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhed, for terror offenses. They were found guilty of plotting a mass shooting inspired by the Islamic State group. Prosecutors accused Haji Zada, who resided in Fort Worth, Texas, of being the "matriarch" who worked to "radicalize the family."
In a statement, the Department of Justice said Haji Zada "conceded that she is an alien terrorist and waived appeal of the removal order." US Attorney General Todd Blanche hailed the case as a "win for national security and the rule of law," stating that "those who support and condone terrorism should not be living in the United States."
However, Haji Zada's court-appointed public defenders, Matthew Farley and Mary Manning Petras, stated that their client's consent to removal should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the court's legitimacy. They expressed confidence that the Alien Terrorist Removal Court would be deemed unconstitutional.