Afghan Woman Deported After First Alien Terrorist Court Case

Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old Afghan permanent resident in Texas, was deported after proceedings before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a tribunal created by Congress in 1996 but never previously used. The Justice Department accused her of supporting and helping radicalize two Afghan relatives involved in a foiled ISIS-inspired mass-shooting plot targeting Election Day 2024; she was never criminally charged. Haji Zada ultimately conceded that she was an alien terrorist, waived her appeal and chose removal to Afghanistan, although reports differed on the precise timing and destination details. Attorney General Todd Blanche called the case a national-security and rule-of-law victory, while her lawyers argued that reliance on classified evidence and restrictions on challenging the government’s case violated due process and said the court could be unconstitutional.