An Afghan national has been removed from the United States for her role in planning an ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day in 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Sept. 11.
Nazira Haji Zada’s deportation was carried out through the long-dormant Alien Terrorist Removal Court, marking the first case ever brought before it. The announcement of the Afghan woman’s removal came on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“This landmark case, resulting in the prompt removal of this alien terrorist to her country of origin, is a win for national security and the rule of law,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court issued the woman’s order of removal on Aug. 20, but that document was unsealed on Sept. 11 following her deportation to Afghanistan.
Zada is now permanently banned from ever returning to the United States, the DOJ stated.
She previously resided in Fort Worth, Texas, and was the matriarch of her family. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, have already been convicted of terrorism-related offenses for their roles in the 2024 Election Day terrorist plot.
The Trump administration first filed its removal application for Nazira Haji Zada on July 15, awakening the never-before-used pathway for deportations. Since its creation in 1996, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court has remained unused across multiple administrations.
Nazira Haji Zada appeared for the first-ever public hearing before the court on July 30.
Chief Judge Joan Ericksen presided and later signed the removal order, basing her decision on classified information provided by the government that included half a terabyte of documents supporting its case.
According to the DOJ, Nazira Haji Zada, alongside her lawyers, had conceded that she is an alien terrorist and waived her right to appeal her removal order.
“An individual who supported a plot by ISIS-sympathizing family members to commit an attack in America has paid the price for that,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in the statement. “She came to our country, betrayed it, and has now lost the right to live here and enjoy our democratic freedoms.”
As part of the planned attack, Nazira Haji Zada supported her son and son-in-law, Abdullah Haji Zada and Tawhedi, in purchasing firearms and ammunition from an undercover FBI agent.
They sought to obtain two AK-47-style rifles and hundreds of rounds of bullets. According to a previous DOJ statement, Tawhedi asked an ISIS facilitator if 500 rounds would be enough to carry out the attack.
Both Abdullah Haji Zada and Tawhedi were arrested in October 2024 before they could fulfill the plan.
To raise money for carrying out the terrorist attack, the family began selling off their property, furniture, computers, and vehicles. Nazira Haji Zada had signed the contract to sell the house.
The DOJ stated that the family had also purchased a one-way flight to Kabul, Afghanistan, shortly before Election Day in 2024. The tickets were only for Nazira Haji Zada and other minor children—not Abdullah Haji Zada and Tawhedi.
Abdullah Haji Zada, who had lawful permanent residency in the United States, received a 15-year prison sentence and has a removal order back to Afghanistan once that period ends.
Tawhedi entered the country in 2021 on a special immigrant visa and was active on pro-ISIS Telegram groups. He pleaded guilty last summer to two terrorism-related offenses and could face decades in prison. He is still awaiting sentencing.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the news statement that if an individual is plotting acts of terrorism against the United States, “We will find them, and we will use every lawful tool available to remove them.”
