The Trump Justice Department filed the first-ever case in the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court to deport an Afghan woman whose family plotted to massacre Americans on Election Day 2024 in the name of ISIS.

Historic Court Action Against Terror Family Matriarch

Nazira Haji Zada, residing in Fort Worth, Texas, faces removal proceedings in a special federal court created by Congress in 1996 specifically for alien terrorists. The Justice Department arrested her this week and brought her before Chief Judge Joan Ericksen. FBI Director Kash Patel called the action historic, stating no one should enter America and betray it. The Alien Terrorist Removal Court consists of five U.S. district court judges designated by the Chief Justice to review removal applications for individuals identified as alien terrorists.

DOJ tapped never-used ‘alien terrorist’ court to deport mother of convicted ISIS supporter https://t.co/UGNFXPqdWQ

— POLITICO (@politico) July 30, 2026

Zada entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident in March 2018 as the spouse of a man who worked for the U.S. at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2016. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials determined she meets the legal definition of an alien terrorist under federal law. The Justice Department alleges Zada worked with her family members to radicalize others and conceal pro-ISIS teachings while living in the United States.

Election Day Massacre Plot Thwarted

Federal agents arrested Zada’s son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, on October 7, 2024, after they purchased firearms and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee. The two Afghan nationals planned to kill as many Americans as possible on Election Day 2024 on behalf of the Islamic State. Investigators uncovered the family’s radical activities and prevented the attack before it could be carried out against American citizens at polling locations.

Biden Administration’s Afghan Refugee Crisis

The Biden administration rapidly admitted thousands of Afghans into the United States following the collapse of Kabul in 2021. Then-President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance warned about the likelihood of extremists entering through inadequate vetting processes. Those warnings proved accurate when multiple radicals from the Zada family, admitted under Biden’s accelerated refugee program, conspired to commit terrorism on American soil. While Zada’s husband worked for the United States in Afghanistan, prosecutors allege she worked against America in Oklahoma before moving to Texas. The case represents the first test of the special terrorist removal court’s authority in its 28-year existence.