Trump admin invokes 30-year dormant terror court as it seeks to deport Afghan woman tied to Election Day plot

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The Trump administration is seeking to use a specialized federal court for the first time since Congress created it three decades ago in an effort to deport an Afghan woman accused of aiding an Islamic State-inspired terror plot in the U.S., according to court records made public on Wednesday.

Nazira Haji Zada, of Fort Worth, Texas, is the first person facing deportation through the Alien Terrorist Removal Court after her arrest earlier this week.

The court is scheduled to hold an initial hearing on Thursday in Washington, D.C., in the government’s effort to deport Haji Zada.

“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. The Department’s application in this court makes clear that terrorists have no place in the United States of America,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.

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Todd Blanche standing next to President Trump, who is at a podium

According to an FBI memo dated July 15, authorities “developed information” that Haji Zada supports the Islamic State and had her children pledge their loyalty to the terrorist group.

Haji Zada “supported” a plot by family members to carry out an ISIS-inspired attack in the U.S., according to the memo.

She was identified in court filings as the mother and mother-in-law of two Afghan men who were convicted in Oklahoma in connection with a 2024 Election Day terror plot.

Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, was sentenced in November to 15 years behind bars. He previously agreed to be deported after his release from prison.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaking at a news conference at the Department of Justice

Haji Zada’s son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who previously worked as a security guard for a U.S. military installation in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State. Prosecutors said he attempted to advance his attack plans by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family’s assets and purchasing one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel back to Afghanistan.

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was created in 1996 but never received a petition until this month, when the Justice Department filed an application attempting to deport Haji Zada.

The longtime-dormant court hears government applications seeking the removal of noncitizens alleged to qualify as “alien terrorists” under federal immigration law when the evidence supporting removal includes classified information.

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“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.

The court is made up of five federal judges from various districts across the country who are appointed by the Supreme Court’s chief justice.

For the time being, the court says all proceedings will take place at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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