Texas woman appears in first alien terrorist removal case

A Texas woman accused by the Justice Department of aiding an ISIS-inspired Election Day attack plot became the first person to appear before a special federal court created nearly 30 years ago to deport alleged “alien terrorists.”

Nazira Haji Zada, 47, of Fort Worth, appeared Thursday in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in Washington, D.C., before Chief Judge Joan Ericksen, a federal judge in Minnesota. Zada, a lawful permanent resident, has not been publicly charged with a terrorism crime and has no known criminal history, according to the government.

The Justice Department is seeking to remove her from the United States over alleged links to a foiled plot to carry out a mass shooting on Election Day in 2024 in support of the Islamic State group. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were arrested Oct. 7, 2024, after purchasing two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI agent, according to court records and the Justice Department.

“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,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.

Zada appeared in court flanked by federal public defenders Matthew Farley and Mary Petras and two translators, NBC News reported. Ericksen noted at the outset that the case was the first to come before a court that “had laid dormant for three decades.” She also emphasized: “This is not a criminal matter. This is a civil matter.”

Farley challenged the government’s effort, calling the removal process unconstitutional. “This entire scheme is in violation of due process and unconstitutional,” he said. He argued that the proceeding violated Zada’s rights under the First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments and described it as a “run-around of bringing a criminal case.” Ericksen denied a motion for Zada’s immediate release but said she would consider constitutional challenges in future hearings.

In an unclassified FBI summary filed with the court, the government alleged that Zada “supported” the conspiracy, “pledged loyalty to ISIS” and “worked to indoctrinate her children with ISIS ideology,” citing information from a “reliable source.” The FBI wrote that “Nazira worked with Tawhedi to radicalize the family and to conceal their pro-ISIS teaching and planned family relocation to ISIS-controlled territory from her unsuspecting husband.”

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hayden O’Byrne told the court that Zada’s husband had no knowledge of the alleged plot, NBC News reported. Court filings say her husband worked at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2016 and received a green card through a program for Afghans who assisted U.S. forces.

The government also said Zada signed a contract to sell the family home and bought one-way airfare for herself and her remaining children to Kabul, Afghanistan, before the alleged attack was to be carried out, according to NBC News.

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was created by Congress in 1996 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It was designed for cases involving noncitizens accused of terrorism when classified information could not be used in ordinary removal proceedings without national security concerns. Targets of proceedings may not review classified evidence against them, and classified applications are considered by the court outside their presence. Lawful permanent residents are entitled to government-appointed counsel, though their lawyers may not share classified evidence with them.

Tawhedi, 28, pleaded guilty in June 2025 to conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, as well as firearms-related offenses. Abdullah Haji Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest and later pleaded guilty to gun crimes as an adult, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and agreed to deportation to Afghanistan after serving his sentence.