The Justice Department is seeking to deport Nazira Haji Zada, 47, a Fort Worth lawful permanent resident, in the first-ever case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. Prosecutors allege she supported a family-linked, Islamic State–inspired plan to carry out a mass shooting on Election Day 2024, though she faces no public criminal terrorism charges. Her son and son-in-law pleaded guilty after buying rifles and ammunition from an undercover FBI agent. A public removal hearing is scheduled Thursday in Washington, D.C.
DOJ Seeks Deportation Of Texas Afghan Woman In First Use Of Secret ‘Alien Terrorist Removal Court’
DOJ asking secretive court to remove Afghan woman allegedly tied to terror plot
The Justice Department has filed to deport Nazira Haji Zada, 47, a Fort Worth lawful permanent resident, in what prosecutors describe as the first-ever case before the little-used Alien Terrorist Removal Court. The government alleges Zada supported a family-linked, Islamic State–inspired plot to carry out a mass shooting on Election Day 2024; she has not been publicly charged with a criminal terrorism offense and the allegations remain unproven in court.
“The allegations in this case show the matriarch of an ISIS-sympathizing family aiding in a plot to launch a mass casualty attack on American voters on Election Day,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Federal filings and an unclassified FBI summary say the government will present evidence to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court that Zada allegedly helped support and indoctrinate family members involved in the plot. Prosecutors point to guilty pleas from two relatives — her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi — who admitted in federal court to buying two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI agent as part of an alleged plan tied to the 2024 election.
Allegations, Pleas and Sentences
According to publicly unsealed records, Abdullah was arrested on Oct. 7, 2024, when he was 17, prosecuted as an adult, pleaded guilty to gun offenses after turning 18 and was later sentenced to 15 years. In his plea agreement he agreed to deportation to Afghanistan after his sentence and acknowledged that his lawful permanent resident status would be revoked. Tawhedi pleaded guilty to terrorism and weapons-related charges; filings say he admitted to conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.
The FBI’s unclassified summary alleges Zada “pledged loyalty to ISIS,” “worked to indoctrinate her children with ISIS ideology,” and “worked with Tawhedi to radicalize the family and to conceal their pro-ISIS teaching and planned family relocation to ISIS-controlled territory from her unsuspecting husband.” The summary cites information from a source the agency deemed reliable. Defense counsel and Zada’s own response to the allegations have not been publicly reported.
About the Alien Terrorist Removal Court
Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in 1996 to permit removal proceedings when national security information is too sensitive to be disclosed in ordinary immigration court. Applications for removal must be certified by the attorney general and are first reviewed ex parte and in camera — meaning the subject of the application is not present for that classified review. Targets of such proceedings, including lawful permanent residents, cannot view the classified evidence and generally cannot challenge how that evidence was collected in this forum.
If the court accepts an application, the case moves to a public removal hearing. At that stage the Justice Department may release an unclassified summary of its case, as it did when it launched a court website and posted an unclassified summary on July 17. Before the Zada filing on July 15, the court had never been used in three decades and was effectively dormant.
Procedure, Counsel and Next Steps
Zada holds a green card, according to court records, and under the court’s rules lawful permanent residents are entitled to government-appointed counsel. That attorney, however, may be restricted from sharing classified material with the defendant. The public removal hearing will be presided over by U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen, chief judge of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday. The Justice Department will present evidence at the public hearing; Zada’s attorney, if one is present, will be limited in what classified information they can share with their client.
It is important to note that the Justice Department’s filing seeks administrative removal through a specialized civil process rather than criminal charges. The allegations remain allegations until proven or otherwise resolved in the appropriate proceedings.
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