Source reporting: Dallas Express
Federal authorities deported a former Fort Worth resident after she agreed that she was removable under federal immigration law’s terrorism provisions, according to the Dallas Express. The outlet reported that the case was the first ever brought before the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a specialized tribunal Congress created in 1996.
The Dallas Express identified the woman as Nazira Haji Zada, 47, an Afghan national who had held lawful permanent resident status. The Justice Department applied to the court on July 15, and an open proceeding followed on July 30. Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen signed an agreed removal order on August 20. Federal authorities took Zada into custody five days later and removed her to Afghanistan, where she arrived August 26, the outlet reported.
According to the report, the government used classified information during the proceeding while also providing roughly half a terabyte of material to Zada and her court-appointed defenders. Zada agreed to removal through counsel, waived an appeal, lost her permanent resident status and became permanently barred from admission to the United States.
The Justice Department alleged that Zada supported a 2024 ISIS-inspired Election Day shooting plot involving her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi. The Dallas Express reported that both men pleaded guilty in related criminal proceedings. Abdullah Haji Zada received a 15-year sentence, while Tawhedi was awaiting sentencing when the article was published. The removal agreement resolved Zada’s immigration case; it did not constitute a criminal conviction.
The proceeding has a direct Texas connection because Zada lived in Fort Worth and because the alleged plot involved members of her household. It also carries broader public-integrity significance. The first use of a decades-old court tests a process designed to let the government present sensitive national-security evidence while providing counsel and judicial review. How that process balances security, transparency and due process will matter if federal officials use the court again.