The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing the deportation of Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old Afghan woman residing in Fort Worth, Texas, in the first-ever case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a secretive tribunal established three decades ago but never convened until now.

Zada appeared on Thursday morning, July 30, 2026, before District Judge Joan Ericksen, chief judge of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, at a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. The Justice Department presented evidence seeking her removal from the United States.

Prosecutors allege Zada is linked to a foiled Islamic State-inspired terrorist plot to carry out a mass shooting targeting American voters on Election Day in 2024. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated, "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."

Zada has not been publicly charged with terrorism crimes and reportedly has no known criminal history. However, last year, her son Abdullah Haji Zada and son-in-law Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi pleaded guilty in federal court in Oklahoma to purchasing two AK-47 style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI agent as part of the alleged 2024 election-related plot supporting the Islamic State. Abdullah was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to gun crimes at age 18.

Court filings indicate Zada's spouse worked at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2016 and obtained a green card through a program for Afghans who assisted U.S. forces during the Afghanistan war.

The FBI alleges that Nazira Haji Zada worked with Tawhedi to radicalize the family, indoctrinate her children with ISIS ideology, and conceal their pro-ISIS activities and plans to relocate to ISIS-controlled territory from her husband.

This case marks the first activation of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, highlighting the government's use of this secretive legal mechanism to address national security concerns.

Sources