Afghan woman deported in first-ever "Alien Terrorist" court case, DOJ says
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The U.S. Justice Department announced the deportation of an Afghan national in the first-ever case heard by the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a previously dormant federal tribunal. The case could establish a precedent for the administration to remove individuals it links to terrorism while keeping classified evidence secret.
Trump admin's "Alien Terrorist" court case results in woman's deportation
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Updated 6 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Afghan woman deported in first-ever "Alien Terrorist" court case, DOJ says
* Avery Lotz
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!Attorney General Todd Blanche — a man with brown hair wearing a blue suit jacket, a white collared shirt and a red tie — points as he speaks into a microphone attached to a podium outside in the DOJ courtyard in D.C.
*Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a memorial event in the courtyard at the Department of Justice in D.C. on Sept. 8. Photo: Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg via Getty Images*
An Afghan national who was the first-ever case before the federal Alien Terrorist Removal Court has been deported, the Justice Department announced Friday.
**The big picture:** The DOJ win before the previously dormant court could give the administration a path toremove people it links to terrorism while keeping much of its evidence secret, *Axios previously reported.*
* "It'll be interesting to see what they do next," saysJess Dawgert, a former DOJ attorney and now founding partner at a firm focused on federal immigration litigation. "I can't imagine that now that they've done this and got this confession fairly quickly that they're not going to use it again."
**Driving the news:** Chief Judge Joan Ericksen directed the removal of Nazira Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident whom the government accused of assisting her son and son-in-law's foiled 2024 shooting plot, in a recently unsealed August 20 order.
* The DOJ said "the government used classified information to establish that Zada is an alien terrorist" and that Zada accepted that designation and waived appeal of the removal order.
* Zada's lawyers had previously argued the government violated her due process rights.
* "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.
**Catch up quick:** The unclassified summary filed in the case accused Zada of being an ISIS supporter who worked to "radicalize the family" and backed her son and son-in-law's conspiracy.
* It further said the underlying information was classified "because disclosure would enable terrorists and terrorist organizations to avoid preventative or detection measures" or could reveal FBI or other intelligence sources.
**What they're saying:** Zada's public defenders, Mary Petras and Matthew Farley, said in a statement to Axios that her "choice to consent to removal should not be seen as an endorsement of this court's legitimacy."
* "Dragging lawful permanent residents into court but refusing to show them or their attorneys the evidence that will be used against them is a plain violation of due process," they continued.
**Friction point:** The case's result alarmed immigration attorney Eric Lee, who says "the very fact that they were able to achieve their goal without the constitutional question even being tested is deeply concerning."
* Pointing to the administration's aggressive immigration crackdown and its propensity to label people as terrorists, he says "it defies logic ... in this particular moment in American history to believe that somehow the invocation of this court could be a positive step, or that ... we should assume it's going to be very very limited."
**The other side:** Aram A. Gavoor, a former senior counsel for national security in the DOJ Civil Division who has long researched the court and argues it works, describes the case as "a success story in national security."
* "\[The Alien Terrorist Removal Court is] never going to be a high volume court, nor should it be," he says.
* He notes the court's judges are appointed by the Supreme Court's chief justice and calls it "perhaps the last body that I would ever ... even think of cutting corners in as a Justice Department prosecutor looking to effectuate favorable national security outcomes."
**The big question** is what comes next, Dawgert says: "Are we going to see a stream of them, or is this really going to be a unique court that is only used in ... unique circumstances?"
*Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.*
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Updated 6 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Afghan woman deported in first-ever "Alien Terrorist" court case, DOJ says
* Avery Lotz
*
*
*
Add Axios on Google
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Add Axios on Google
!Attorney General Todd Blanche — a man with brown hair wearing a blue suit jacket, a white collared shirt and a red tie — points as he speaks into a microphone attached to a podium outside in the DOJ courtyard in D.C.
*Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a memorial event in the courtyard at the Department of Justice in D.C. on Sept. 8. Photo: Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg via Getty Images*
An Afghan national who was the first-ever case before the federal Alien Terrorist Removal Court has been deported, the Justice Department announced Friday.
**The big picture:** The DOJ win before the previously dormant court could give the administration a path toremove people it links to terrorism while keeping much of its evidence secret, *Axios previously reported.*
* "It'll be interesting to see what they do next," saysJess Dawgert, a former DOJ attorney and now founding partner at a firm focused on federal immigration litigation. "I can't imagine that now that they've done this and got this confession fairly quickly that they're not going to use it again."
**Driving the news:** Chief Judge Joan Ericksen directed the removal of Nazira Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident whom the government accused of assisting her son and son-in-law's foiled 2024 shooting plot, in a recently unsealed August 20 order.
* The DOJ said "the government used classified information to establish that Zada is an alien terrorist" and that Zada accepted that designation and waived appeal of the removal order.
* Zada's lawyers had previously argued the government violated her due process rights.
* "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.
**Catch up quick:** The unclassified summary filed in the case accused Zada of being an ISIS supporter who worked to "radicalize the family" and backed her son and son-in-law's conspiracy.
* It further said the underlying information was classified "because disclosure would enable terrorists and terrorist organizations to avoid preventative or detection measures" or could reveal FBI or other intelligence sources.
**What they're saying:** Zada's public defenders, Mary Petras and Matthew Farley, said in a statement to Axios that her "choice to consent to removal should not be seen as an endorsement of this court's legitimacy."
* "Dragging lawful permanent residents into court but refusing to show them or their attorneys the evidence that will be used against them is a plain violation of due process," they continued.
**Friction point:** The case's result alarmed immigration attorney Eric Lee, who says "the very fact that they were able to achieve their goal without the constitutional question even being tested is deeply concerning."
* Pointing to the administration's aggressive immigration crackdown and its propensity to label people as terrorists, he says "it defies logic ... in this particular moment in American history to believe that somehow the invocation of this court could be a positive step, or that ... we should assume it's going to be very very limited."
**The other side:** Aram A. Gavoor, a former senior counsel for national security in the DOJ Civil Division who has long researched the court and argues it works, describes the case as "a success story in national security."
* "\[The Alien Terrorist Removal Court is] never going to be a high volume court, nor should it be," he says.
* He notes the court's judges are appointed by the Supreme Court's chief justice and calls it "perhaps the last body that I would ever ... even think of cutting corners in as a Justice Department prosecutor looking to effectuate favorable national security outcomes."
**The big question** is what comes next, Dawgert says: "Are we going to see a stream of them, or is this really going to be a unique court that is only used in ... unique circumstances?"
*Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.*
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