WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� An Afghan woman accused of supporting an Islamic State-inspired plot in the U.S. is the first person facing deportation through the Trump administration鈥檚 use of an that remained dormant for 30 years, according to filed Wednesday.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court is scheduled to hold a hearing on Thursday in Washington, D.C., for the government’s petition to deport Nazira Haji Zada, of Fort Worth, Texas. Nazira was arrested earlier this week.
An dated July 15 said it 鈥渄eveloped information鈥� that Nazira is an Islamic State supporter who had her children pledge their loyalty to the terrorist group. Nazira 鈥渟upported” a plot by relatives to carry out an ISIS-inspired attack in the U.S., the memo says.
Court filings identify Nazira as the mother and mother-in-law of two Afghan men who were convicted in Oklahoma for their roles in the 2024 Election Day plot. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, was sentenced last November to 15 years in prison and court records show he previously agreed to be removed from the U.S. after he is released from prison.
Her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, previously worked as a security guard for an American military installation in Afghanistan. He pleaded guilty to conspiring and attempting to provide material support to , and prosecutors have said he took steps to advance his attack plans by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family鈥檚 assets and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established in 1996 but had never received a petition until this month, when the Justice Department filed an application seeking Nazira鈥檚 removal. Documents in support of that application were unsealed Wednesday night ahead of a scheduled hearing Thursday.
The long-dormant court has a specific authority to conduct deportation proceedings for individuals whom the Justice Department classifies as 鈥渁lien terrorists.鈥�
The court is comprised of five federal judges from different districts across the country who are appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, with all proceedings, at least for now, taking place at the federal courthouse in Washington.
鈥淐ongress 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,鈥� acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
鈥淭he 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鈥檚 application in this court makes clear that terrorists have no place in the United States of America,鈥� Blanche added.
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