For the first time in three decades, the United States has invoked a secretive 1996 tribunal to remove a permanent resident from its soil — not for a crime she was charged with, but for the company she kept and the beliefs she allegedly nurtured. Nazira Haji Zada, an Afghan woman living in Texas, chose deportation over a legal fight she could not fully see, surrendering her American life after the Justice Department designated her an alien terrorist based on classified evidence her own attorneys were never permitted to share with her. Her case arrives on the anniversary of September 11th, and
Afghan woman deported in DOJ's first 'alien terrorist' removal court case
Nazira Haji Zada, a permanent resident, was deported to Afghanistan after being designated an alien terrorist without access to classified evidence against her.
She couldn't see the evidence against her. She couldn't challenge how it was collected.
Mark
So this woman was deported without ever being charged with a crime. How is that legally possible?
Mimi
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was designed exactly for this scenario. It was created in 1996 to handle cases where the government has classified evidence it can't make public. The idea is that national security sometimes requires secrecy that would be impossible in a normal criminal trial.
Luke
But that's the problem, isn't it? She couldn't see the evidence against her. She couldn't challenge how it was collected. That's not a trial—that's an administrative process dressed up as one.
Mimi
Right. And she was a permanent resident, not even a citizen. The government's position is that supporting terrorism disqualifies you from living here, regardless of your immigration status.
Mark
What exactly did she allegedly do? Support her son's plot?
Mimi
The Justice Department said she supported their plans and tried to radicalize her children toward ISIS. But we don't know the specifics because it's all classified.
Luke
And that's the real issue. We're taking the government's word for it. She conceded and waived appeal after seeing half a terabyte of documents, but we have no idea what was in them or whether they actually proved what the government claimed.
Mark
Why would she give up if she was innocent?
Mimi
Maybe the evidence was overwhelming. Maybe she was exhausted. Maybe she wanted to leave anyway. We don't know.
Luke
Exactly. This is the first case ever brought under this court. That alone should make people pause. We're watching a legal tool get used for the first time, and we can't see how it works or whether it's working fairly.
Mark
What happens now?
Mimi
She's in Afghanistan. And the Justice Department has signaled it's willing to use this court again.
Il Polso
- A legal mechanism dormant for thirty years has been activated for the first time, signaling that the Justice Department is prepared to use its most secretive tools against permanent residents with family ties to terrorism.
- Nazira Haji Zada faced a tribunal where the evidence against her was classified, the collection methods were unchallengeable, and a traditional defense was structurally impossible — a proceeding unlike anything else in the American legal system.
- Her public defenders initially vowed to fight the designation on due process grounds, but after receiving half a terabyte of undisclosed documents, Haji Zada conceded the government's case and waived her right to appeal.
- She has been deported to Afghanistan — a country she had left behind — without the public ever learning what specific evidence sealed her fate.
- The case now stands as a precedent, raising urgent questions about whether family association alone can justify invoking extraordinary national security powers against lawful permanent residents.
For the first time in three decades, the United States has invoked a secretive 1996 tribunal to remove a permanent resident from its soil — not for a crime she was charged with, but for the company she kept and the beliefs she allegedly nurtured. Nazira Haji Zada, an Afghan woman living in Texas, chose deportation over a legal fight she could not fully see, surrendering her American life after the Justice Department designated her an alien terrorist based on classified evidence her own attorneys were never permitted to share with her. Her case arrives on the anniversary of September 11th, and it asks an enduring question: how much of justice can be hidden before it ceases to be justice at all.
The Justice Department announced Friday that it had deported an Afghan permanent resident from Texas using a legal tribunal so rarely invoked that this marked the first time it had ever been used. Nazira Haji Zada, 47, chose to leave the United States rather than continue fighting in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court — a secretive body created in 1996 to handle cases built on classified evidence the government cannot safely disclose in public.
Haji Zada had never been charged with a crime. But her son and son-in-law were both convicted in connection with an ISIS-inspired plot to carry out a mass shooting on Election Day 2024. The Justice Department alleged she had supported their plans and worked to radicalize her children, and on that basis moved to remove her as an alien terrorist.
The court operates by rules unlike any other in the American system. Defendants — even those holding permanent resident status — cannot see the classified evidence against them, cannot challenge how it was gathered, and cannot mount a conventional defense. Her public defenders initially argued the proceedings violated her constitutional right to due process. But after the government shared half a terabyte of documents with her legal team, Haji Zada conceded the designation and waived her appeal.
Attorney General Todd Blanche called the deportation a national security victory, saying those who support terrorism have no place in the United States. What the public will never know is what, precisely, changed her mind — the classified record remains sealed. She is now in Afghanistan. The dormant court has been awakened, and whether the Justice Department will use it again against permanent residents connected to accused terrorists is a question that now hangs over every such case to come.
The Justice Department announced Friday that it had successfully deported an Afghan permanent resident from Texas using a legal mechanism so obscure and restrictive that this was the first time it had ever been deployed. Nazira Haji Zada, 47, chose to leave the United States rather than continue fighting in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a secretive tribunal created in 1996 specifically to handle cases where the government possesses classified information it cannot disclose publicly without compromising national security.
Haji Zada had never been charged with a crime. But her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were both convicted in connection with a plot to carry out an ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day in 2024. The Justice Department alleged that Nazira Haji Zada had supported their plans and actively worked to radicalize her children toward ISIS ideology. On that basis alone, the government moved to remove her from the country as an alien terrorist.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court operates under rules fundamentally different from any other legal proceeding in the American system. Defendants in these cases—including those who hold permanent resident status—are not permitted to see the classified evidence against them. They cannot challenge how the government collected that evidence. They cannot mount a traditional legal defense because the very foundation of the case remains hidden from them. Public defenders representing Haji Zada initially signaled she would fight the designation, arguing that the court's secrecy violated her constitutional right to due process. But after the Justice Department shared half a terabyte of documents with her legal team, she conceded that she was an alien terrorist and waived her right to appeal.
Attorney General Todd Blanche framed the deportation as a national security victory. "Those who support and condone terrorism should not be living in the United States," he said in a statement, adding that the case demonstrated the department's commitment to using "every tool at its disposal" to protect the country. The language was unambiguous: the government had identified a threat, deployed a legal instrument designed for exactly this purpose, and removed it from American soil.
What remains unclear is what specific evidence convinced Haji Zada to abandon her defense. The classified nature of the proceedings means the public will never know what documents, communications, or allegations formed the basis of the government's case. She is now in Afghanistan, a country she had left behind as a permanent resident of the United States. The Alien Terrorist Removal Court, dormant for three decades, has now been activated. Whether this case signals a new willingness by the Justice Department to invoke this mechanism against other permanent residents—particularly those with family members accused of terrorism—remains to be seen.
Citazioni salienti
Those who support and condone terrorism should not be living in the United States, and this first-ever case before the ATRC shows how the Department will use every tool at its disposal to protect our country.— Attorney General Todd Blanche
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su CBS News ↗
Politics & Governance