An Afghan woman who admitted to supporting an ISIS-inspired Election Day shooting plot has been deported from Texas — in the first case ever brought before the Alien Deportation Court since Congress created it 30 years ago.
Nazira Haji Zada, 47, who lived in Fort Worth, admitted to conspiring with family members to purchase two AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition, and 10 magazines to carry out an attack on or around November 5, 2024.
The attack was allegedly planned on behalf of ISIS.
“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 stated. “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.”
The DOJ announced the removal Friday. The Deportation Court application was filed July 15 and certified by Blanche. Zada appeared in court for the first time July 30, before Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen, who signed the order removing her to Afghanistan.
Zada was described by the department as the “matriarch” of her family.
Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were previously arrested and convicted for the Election Day plot.
Tawhedi and Abdullah were arrested on October 7, 2024, after buying weapons and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee.
Abdullah, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, entered his plea as an adult and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He will also be deported to Afghanistan following his incarceration.
In June 2025, Tawhedi, 28, pled guilty to conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS — a designated foreign organization — and receiving firearms and ammunition in furtherance of a federal crime. He is awaiting sentencing.
“This is a historic and vitally important step in our work to protect the U.S. homeland from terrorism,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “An individual who supported a plot by ISIS-sympathizing family members to commit an attack in America has paid the price for that. She came to our country, betrayed it, and has now lost the right to live here and enjoy our democratic freedoms.”
The DOJ said the U.S. government provided Zada with two federal public defenders and approximately half a terabyte of documents supporting the government’s case.
.@AGToddBlanche today on the first-ever removal of an alien terrorist using the Alien Terrorist Removal Court:
“This is a law that’s been on the books for a very long time and never been used. What it allows the Justice Department to do is work with the intelligence community… https://t.co/zSlymICewDpic.twitter.com/4Rt1gsHGOK
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) September 11, 2026
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Zada “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,” Eisenberg said.
State Department Spokesman Tommy Pigott added: “Those who support terrorism against the American people will face the consequences. We will secure our borders, and we will use every tool to stop those who intend us harm from entering or remaining at-large in our country.”
In the first-ever case before the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC), Nazira Haji Zada, 47, an Afghan national previously residing in Fort Worth, Texas, was removed from the U.S. after conceding that she is an alien terrorist. As the matriarch in her family, she… pic.twitter.com/91lv3Ixqbb
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) September 11, 2026
