The Trump Administration has made history by filing the first-ever application to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, seeking to deport an ISIS-aligned terrorist whose sons were arrested for planning a mass casualty attack on election day.
An unclassified Justice Department document reveals that Nazira Haji Zada is the subject of an FBI national security investigation and is being investigated for crimes related to international terrorism.
Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were arrested by the FBI after they conspired to relocate their family members, including Zada, to ISIS-controlled territory in Afghanistan, while they would remain in the U.S. to conduct an attack on behalf of ISIS.
The FBI has developed information that Zada is a supporter of ISIS, has formally pledged loyalty to the terrorist group, and supported her sons' conspiracy. The FBI is also aware that Zada worked with her son-in-law to indoctrinate her children with ISIS ideology and have them pledge loyalty to the group.
According to a statement from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, "Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court three decades ago to remove from the United States alien terrorists who never should have been here in the first place." The Department's application in this court makes clear that terrorists have no place in the United States of America.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court, created in 1996, has never been used before. Zada was arrested earlier this week and will appear before the ATRC's Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, July 30, at 11:00 a.m.
The court's Chief Judge Joan Eriksen has written that "the Government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration" in a July 16 order. The hearing was held on July 16, during which the court was persuaded that the Government's application was worthy of further consideration.
