US terror court hears first case to deport Afghan woman

An Afghan woman in Texas accused by the FBI of supporting an Islamic State election-day shooting plot was set to face a US deportation hearing on July 30 in the first case ever heard by a special terror court created 30 years ago.

Nazira Haji Zada, a legal permanent resident with no criminal history, was due for an initial status hearing at the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court in Washington, according to court documents posted online.

Zada's son, Abdullah Haji Zada, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2025 for plotting an attack on US election day. Court documents said Abdullah Haji Zada and co-conspirator Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi sought to buy two AK-47 rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition to carry out a mass-casualty attack.

An unclassified FBI document dated July 15 said Nazira Haji Zada had formally pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group and supported Tawhedi and Abdullah's conspiracy. The FBI said she worked with Tawhedi to radicalize the family and conceal pro-Islamic State teaching and a planned family relocation to Islamic State-controlled territory in Afghanistan from her husband.

The document did not detail where the family intended to move in Afghanistan.

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was created by Congress in 1996 to review applications to remove alleged alien terrorists from the United States, according to the Federal Judicial Center. The case is the first application the court has received.