The Justice Department announced Friday that Nazira Haji Zada, an Afghan woman accused of supporting an ISIS-aligned terror plot, has been deported following proceedings before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. The ATRC is a federal tribunal created in 1996 that had never previously heard a case, according to The Associated Press.
Zada, 47, was arrested at her home in Fort Worth, Texas, in July. According to AP, she did not contest her detention and consented to deportation, although the timing and destination of her removal were not immediately known.
READ: Most Indian Americans favor Democrats over Trump for the upcoming midterm elections (September 1, 2026)
According to Justice Department filings, Zada promoted ISIS ideology within her household and took steps to advance a terror plot planned by her son and son-in-law targeting the 2024 election. Zada’s son pleaded guilty to charges of acquiring weapons for a terrorist organization and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“Nazira Haji Zada, an Afghan national who was living in Texas, is now permanently inadmissible to the United States after @TheJusticeDept secured her removal in the first-ever case brought before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC) because she supported her son and son-in-law’s plot to carry out an ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day in 2024,” Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X. “This landmark case demonstrates that the Justice Department will use every tool at its disposal to protect the American people. Those who support terrorism have no place in our country.”
Zada’s case was the first brought before the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court. Attorney General Todd Blanche certified the application to remove Zada, which was filed July 15. Zada appeared in open court for the first time July 30, with ATRC Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen presiding. Ericksen later signed the removal order.
According to the Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs, the government used classified information to establish that Zada qualified as an alien terrorist under the ATRC statute. The government also provided Zada and her attorneys, two federal public defenders, with approximately half a terabyte of documents supporting its case.
READ: Why experts say the $100,000 OPT fee has little chance of surviving (August 11, 2026)
Under the court’s rules, classified evidence supporting the government’s terrorism designation can be withheld from public view and from the accused. Unlike executive-branch immigration judges who handle ordinary deportation cases, ATRC proceedings are assigned to Article III federal judges, according to AP. No previous administration had filed a petition with the tribunal.
“This is a historic and vitally important step in our work to protect the U.S. homeland from terrorism,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “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. This FBI and our Justice Department partners will protect the American people from the threat of terrorism, using all means necessary.”