The Kabul Tribune (KT) — An Afghan woman has been deported from the United States after conceding that she qualified for removal as an “alien terrorist” in the first case brought before a specialized federal court created to swiftly remove noncitizens deemed to pose a terrorist threat, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Nazira Haji Zada, 47, previously lived in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court issued an order for her removal Aug. 20, and
the order was unsealed after she returned to Afghanistan, according to the
Justice Department.
The department said Haji Zada acknowledged supporting a
planned ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day in 2024 involving members
of her family. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi,
were arrested in October 2024 in connection with the plot.
Haji Zada appeared in court July 30 with two federal public
defenders and agreed to the government's characterization of her as an alien
terrorist, according to the Justice Department. She also waived her right to
appeal the removal order.
The department said the government relied in part on
classified information in the proceeding and provided Haji Zada and her lawyers
with roughly half a terabyte of documents supporting its case.
Attorney General Todd Blanche described the case as a
national security victory, while FBI Director Kash Patel said Haji Zada had
supported a plot by family members who sympathized with ISIS.
The statements from U.S. officials were not independent
findings about Haji Zada's conduct. Her admission in the removal proceeding was
the basis for the order, according to the Justice Department.
The case involved an alleged 2024 plan to carry out a
mass-casualty attack around Election Day, Nov. 5. According to court documents
cited by the Justice Department, Tawhedi admitted conspiring to obtain two
AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition and 10 magazines for an attack on behalf
of ISIS.
Tawhedi, 28, pleaded guilty in June 2025 to
terrorism-related offenses involving material support for ISIS and firearms and
ammunition. He is awaiting sentencing.
Abdullah Haji Zada, who was 17 when he was arrested, pleaded
guilty as an adult and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Under his
plea agreement, he agreed to be removed to Afghanistan after serving his
sentence.
The Justice Department said the family had also sold
property and purchased one-way tickets to Kabul shortly before Election Day
2024. Haji Zada had signed a contract to sell the family's house, according to
the department.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established by
Congress in 1996 but had not previously been used by a U.S. administration,
according to the Justice Department. The court can order the removal of a
noncitizen when the government proves by a preponderance of the evidence that
the person is a terrorist under applicable federal law.
The court permits the government to use classified
information in cases where public disclosure could threaten national security.
It also provides legal counsel to defendants who require it and allows appeals
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The Justice Department said the case involved the
coordinated efforts of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security
Investigations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in addition to
the department's National Security Division.
