The Justice Department has invoked the long-dormant Alien Terrorist Removal Court for the first time in its 30-year history, seeking to deport Nazira Haji Zada, an Afghan woman accused of supporting an ISIS-inspired election day plot. The rare proceeding unfolds this week in Washington, D.C.
A federal court established under President Bill Clinton in 1996 has finally stepped out of the shadows. The Justice Department filed its first-ever petition under the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, targeting Nazira Haji Zada of Fort Worth, Texas. Arrested earlier in the week, she faces deportation proceedings in Washington, D.C., through a legal mechanism that has existed almost exclusively on paper for three decades.
The ISIS-Inspired Plot and Family Ties in Texas
Federal investigators allege that Nazira Haji Zada supported a family-driven conspiracy to launch a mass-casualty attack on American voters during the 2024 elections. An FBI memo dated July 15 states that authorities developed information
indicating she was an Islamic State supporter who instructed her children to pledge loyalty to the terrorist network, according to reporting from AP News.
Court records connect Nazira directly to individuals already convicted in Oklahoma for their roles in the foiled 2024 Election Day plot. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, received a 15-year prison sentence last November and previously agreed to deportation upon completing his prison term. Her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi—who once worked as a security guard for a U.S. military installation in Afghanistan—pleaded guilty to conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group. Prosecutors stated that Tawhedi took concrete steps to advance the attack by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating family assets, and purchasing one-way tickets back to Afghanistan for his wife and child.
Inside the 30-Year-Old Alien Terrorist Removal Court
Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court via legislation signed into law in 1996 to handle the deportation of noncitizens whose cases involve classified information that cannot be shared publicly due to national security concerns.
The court consists of five federal judges appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, all of whom concurrently serve on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. By law, only the attorney general can approve removal applications under this statute. The Justice Department must demonstrate probable cause establishing that a defendant is a noncitizen who qualifies as an alien terrorist
and presents a national security threat.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized the gravity of the case in a public statement, noting that 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.
Blanche filed the application on July 15, the same day he appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing.
Legal Precedent and Broader Immigration Enforcement
The unprecedented use of the dormant court marks a sharp escalation in federal immigration enforcement strategies. Immigration attorneys point out the profound constitutional questions raised by utilizing a tribunal designed to operate largely under seal with restricted defenses.
Lee added that if the executive branch can detain someone with full constitutional rights who’s in the United States, based on secret evidence and arguments that they’re not allowed to hear, and evidence that might have been acquired through completely illegal means, those are Rubicons that have not been crossed in this country’s history.
Prior to this filing, the administration attempted other expedited removal avenues, including invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against suspected members of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua—an effort that drew pushback from Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S.
A federal judge assigned to the case has requested additional information from the Justice Department, though the specifics remain sealed while the court prepares for its scheduled proceedings in Washington, D.C.