Deportation under alien terrorist court

Nazira Haji Zada, 47, an Afghan woman who had been living as a legal US permanent resident in Fort Worth, Texas, was deported to Afghanistan in the first-ever use of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC), a specialized federal court created by Congress in 1996 but never previously used. Haji Zada chose to consent to removal rather than continue fighting her case, after conceding to the court that she was an 'alien terrorist' and waiving her right to appeal; she was never herself charged with a crime, but prosecutors accused her of being the 'matriarch' of a family plot and of working to radicalize relatives. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were convicted for a plot to carry out a mass shooting on Election Day 2024, inspired by the Islamic State group, after being arrested in October 2024 for allegedly buying AK-47 rifles and ammunition from an undercover FBI agent; the son was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Tawhedi awaits sentencing. Attorney General Todd Blanche called the case 'a win for national security and the rule of law,' and FBI Director Kash Patel called it a 'historic and vitally important step' in protecting the homeland.

Haji Zada's court-appointed lawyers, Matthew Farley and Mary Manning Petras, said they were denied access to the evidence used against their client and stressed that her decision to consent to removal 'should not be seen as an endorsement of this court's legitimacy,' arguing that 'dragging lawful permanent residents into court but refusing to show them or their attorneys the evidence that will be used against them is a plain violation of due process.' They said they were confident the ATRC would eventually be struck down as unconstitutional once a judge addressed the issue. Haji Zada is barred from returning to the United States; the court had issued her removal order on August 20.