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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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The Trump administration has activated the long-dormant United States "alien terrorist" removal court for the first time, seeking the deportation of an Afghan woman accused of supporting an Islamic State-linked terrorism plot involving her son and son-in-law.
The administration is seeking the removal of Nazira Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident, under provisions of federal law that allow the government to pursue deportation of noncitizens it alleges have engaged in or supported terrorist activities. Court records show the Justice Department filed the first application in the court's history on July 15.
An unclassified FBI summary filed with the application alleges that Haji Zada supported ISIS, pledged allegiance to the group, and assisted a conspiracy involving her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Tawhedi. The allegations against her have not been proven, and the removal case remains pending.
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Newsweek has reached out via email to the defense attorney who represented her son in his criminal case in the Western District of Oklahoma.
What Is the ‘Alien Terrorist’ Court?
The case marks the first proceeding before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a specialized five-judge tribunal Congress created under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.
Although established nearly three decades ago, the court remained dormant until the Justice Department filed the Haji Zada case in July 2026. Its judges are selected by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Unlike the nation's regular immigration courts, the tribunal can consider classified national security evidence and permits the government to provide an unclassified summary instead of disclosing sensitive intelligence in full.
Before a case can proceed, the government must show probable cause that a respondent qualifies as an "alien terrorist" and that using ordinary removal procedures would pose a national security risk.
The court's current members are Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen of Minnesota and U.S. District Judges Timothy D. DeGiusti of Oklahoma, Karin Johanna Immergut of Oregon, Kenneth M. Karas of New York and Sara Elizabeth Lioi of Ohio. They serve staggered terms while continuing their regular judicial duties.
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Why the Trump Administration Activated the Court
Haji Zada, 47, was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 2018 with her husband, according to the filing. Officials acknowledged that she has no criminal history and argued that traditional immigration proceedings would not provide an adequate route for her removal. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche approved the government’s application June 30.
The case provides the first test of a system that allows the government to rely on classified national security material while withholding portions of that evidence from the person facing deportation. The government's bid to remove Haji Zada relies in part on classified information that has not been made public, and it remains unclear how much of that material will be disclosed as the proceedings continue. It also opens a potentially significant new front in President Donald Trump’s effort to expand the government’s deportation program.
According to an unclassified FBI summary submitted with the application, the bureau opened a national security investigation into Haji Zada after examining the activities of her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi. The FBI alleges the two men plotted an Election Day 2024 attack in the United States on behalf of ISIS while arranging for female relatives and juvenile family members, including Haji Zada, to relocate to ISIS-controlled territory in Afghanistan. They were arrested on October 7, 2024, while allegedly attempting to purchase firearms and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee and have since been convicted in federal court.
The FBI further alleges Haji Zada supported ISIS, pledged allegiance to the group, promoted its ideology to her children, encouraged them to do the same, helped advance the conspiracy, and concealed the family's alleged activities and relocation plans from her husband. The summary says these allegations are based on information from a source the FBI considers reliable and whose reporting has been repeatedly corroborated, while the underlying intelligence remains classified to protect sources, methods, and counterterrorism operations. Haji Zada has not been convicted of a terrorism offense, and the removal proceedings remain pending.
Abdullah Haji Zada pleaded guilty in a separate federal criminal case to conspiring to receive a firearm and ammunition to be used to commit a federal crime of terrorism. Tawhedi pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS and was awaiting sentencing while undergoing a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.
A court filing submitted by Abdullah Haji Zada's defense attorneys before his sentencing last year said that his mother "is illiterate and speaks no English." The filing said she relied on her teenage son to translate for her.
“Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court three decades ago to remove from the United States alien terrorists who never should have been here in the first place,” Blanche said in a statement. “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.”
Those restrictions have prompted questions about whether the court’s procedures provide adequate due process. The Fifth Amendment’s protections extend to noncitizens in the United States, but the tribunal’s structure can prevent a respondent and the respondent’s attorney from examining or challenging parts of the government’s evidence. No previous administration tested those procedures because no case had been filed.
Even in its first proceeding, the court has not simply accepted the government’s position.
Ericksen held a sealed hearing July 16, one day after the application was filed. Lawyers presented arguments, but the court took no sworn testimony, according to her subsequent order.
The judge said the court had questions about the connection between the respondent’s alleged conduct and the specific provisions of federal law invoked by the government. The administration’s answers, she wrote, persuaded the court that it “could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration.”
Ericksen directed the Justice Department to supplement its application with further factual or legal analysis by July 22.
The administration maintained that the court’s existence did not prevent the president from using other statutory powers. Its application against Haji Zada now places the previously dormant tribunal at the center of a live deportation case, requiring judges chosen by Roberts to determine whether the government’s classified and unclassified evidence satisfies a law that has never before been applied.
Chief Judge Ericksen found probable cause to support the Justice Department's application seeking Haji Zada's removal, clearing the way for the case to move forward. The ruling sets the stage for an initial status hearing Thursday morning at the federal courthouse in Washington.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon and Cristina Diciu.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated Abdullah Haji Zada's conviction charge. He pleaded guilty to terrorism-related firearms charges, which carry a statutory maximum of 15 years in prison.
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