The U.S. Department of Justice announced last week that an Afghan national residing in Fort Worth was removed from the United States after conceding that she was an alien terrorist.
According to a press release from the DOJ, Nazira Haji Zada, 47, was removed from the United States after acknowledging that she supported a plot to commit an ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day in 2024.
The DOJ said her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were previously arrested in connection with the plot to carry out the attack.
Abdullah Zada pleaded guilty in Nov. 2025 and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. He is expected to be removed from the United States and returned to Afghanistan after serving his sentence.
Tawhedi pled guilty in June 2025 to two terrorism-related offenses: conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, and receiving, attempting to receive and conspiring to receive firearms and ammunition in furtherance of a federal crime. He is awaiting sentencing.
Nazira’s case marks the first time a case has been brought before the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court, which was created in 1996 to provide a legal mechanism for removing noncitizens deemed a national security threat while allowing the federal government to present classified evidence.
The DOJ said that the family began selling their property, including furniture, computers, a mobile phone, and two vehicles, to fund the planned 2024 attack. According to the department, Nazira signed a contract to sell the family’s home, and the family purchased one-way plane tickets for her and other minor children to travel to Kabul, Afghanistan, before the attack was to take place.
“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. “Those who support and condone terrorism should not be living in the United States, and this first-ever case before the ATRC shows how the Department will use every tool at its disposal to protect our country.”
CBS News reported that public defenders representing Nazira planned to fight the government’s effort to remove her, arguing that the court’s secretive rules violated her due process rights. However, she opted to leave rather than continue litigating the case.
“Zada supported her sons’ terrorist plot to attack the United States while she enjoyed the privilege of residing here as a resident alien,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said. “She abused our Nation’s hospitality and represented a clear threat to our national security. The United States is a safer place now that her sons are in custody and she has been deported.”
