DOJ asking secretive court to deport Afghan woman allegedly tied to ISIS-linked plot, in first-ever test case
The Justice Department is seeking to deport a Texas-based Afghan woman who prosecutors allege is an 'alien terrorist' in the first-ever test case before a secretive court. Nazira Haji Zada, 47, will appear in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in Washington, D.C., where a …
Intelligence analysis by Llama
The Justice Department is seeking to deport a Texas-based Afghan woman who prosecutors allege is an 'alien terrorist' in the first-ever test case before a secretive court. The government is accusing her of links to a foiled Islamic State-inspired terrorist plot to carry out a mass shooting on Election Day in 2024.
A secretive court in the US is trying a woman who allegedly helped her family support the Islamic State. The court has never been used before, and this is the first case it's hearing. The woman's son and son-in-law were already convicted of buying guns and planning a terrorist attack.
Analysis
A Secretive Court Takes Center Stage
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court, created by Congress in 1996, has never convened since its inception. The court was set up to deport noncitizens who could not be removed by the traditional legal process because the information about their cases was classified and could not be made public for national security reasons. The targets of noncitizen terrorist removal proceedings are not permitted to review the classified evidence against them, and unlike in criminal proceedings, they are barred from legally challenging how the evidence was collected by the government.
A Family Tied to ISIS
The case involves Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old Afghan woman living in Texas, who prosecutors allege is an 'alien terrorist.' Her son Abdullah Haji Zada and son-in-law Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi each pleaded guilty in a federal court in Oklahoma to purchasing two AK-47 style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI agent as part of an alleged plot targeting the 2024 election in support of the Islamic State. At the time of his arrest in 2024, Zada's son was only 17. He was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to gun crimes when he was 18. Tawhedi pleaded guilty to terrorism and gun offenses.
A Test Case for the Ages
The government is accusing Zada of supporting her son and son-in-law's conspiracy. The FBI also alleged she 'pledged loyalty to ISIS' and 'worked to indoctrinate her children with ISIS ideology,' citing information from a 'reliable source.' The case is a test for the secretive court, which has never been used before. If the application is accepted, it moves to the removal stage and a public hearing is conducted. As part of that, the Justice Department also releases an unclassified summary of the case, as it did in a newly created website for the court that was only launched on July 17.
Key points
- The Justice Department is seeking to deport a Texas-based Afghan woman who prosecutors allege is an 'alien terrorist' in the first-ever test case before a secretive court.
- The government is accusing her of links to a foiled Islamic State-inspired terrorist plot to carry out a mass shooting on Election Day in 2024.
- The case involves a family tied to ISIS, with the woman's son and son-in-law already convicted of buying guns and planning a terrorist attack.
- The case is a test for the secretive court, which has never been used before.
- The government is using an unclassified summary of the case, which was released on a newly created website for the court.
If the court rules in favor of the government, it could set a precedent for future cases involving alien terrorists. This could lead to more efficient and effective removal of noncitizens who pose a threat to national security.
The case could also set a precedent for the government to use secretive courts to deport noncitizens without due process. This could lead to more cases like Zada's, where the evidence against her is classified and she is not allowed to review it.
