DOJ goes to special court to send mother of terrorists back to Afghanistan

The Biden administration admitted — at an accelerated pace — thousands of Afghans into the United States following the collapse of Kabul, despite warnings from Donald Trump, then-Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), and others about the likelihood of extremists slipping through the cracks.Among the extremists ultimately admitted into the U.S. under Biden was a jihadist who, with the help of other radicals in his family already in the U.S., plotted to slaughter as many Americans on Election Day 2024 as possible on behalf of ISIS.’NAZIRA worked with TAWHEDI to radicalize the family and to conceal their pro-ISIS teaching,’ the DOJ claims.The Trump Justice Department announced on Thursday that it has filed the first-ever case in the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court — to remove the matriarch of that terrorist family, Nazira Haji Zada.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement noted in its July 15 declaration in support of Zada’s removal that she was first admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident in March 2018 as the spouse of a Middle Easterner employed by the U.S. at Bagram Air Base from 2009 to 2016. It notes further that she “meets the definition of alien terrorist as used in 8 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(1)(D)(i).”Zada, who has been residing in Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested this week and will appear before ATRC’s Chief Judge Joan Ericksen on Thursday.The ATRC is a special court created by Congress in 1996. Congress authorized the chief justice of the United States — presently the head of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts — to designate five U.S. district court judges to review removal applications for individuals identified as alien terrorists.”This is a historic step asking this court for the first time to remove an individual from the United States who supported a plot by ISIS-sympathizing family members to commit an act of terrorism in America,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “No one should be allowed to come into our country and then betray it.”RELATED: Democrat crashes out AGAIN, threatens ICE with ‘day of reckoning’ for catching suspected terrorist AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty ImagesZada is the mother of Abdullah Haji Zada and the mother-in-law of Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, both of whom were arrested on Oct. 7, 2024, after buying guns and ammo from an undercover FBI employee for use in their thwarted Election Day massacre.Abdullah Zada, an Afghan national who came to the U.S. with Zada in 2018, pleaded guilty in April 2025 to knowingly receiving, attempting to receive, and conspiring to receive a firearm and ammunition to be used to commit a federal crime of terrorism. He was handed down the maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, after which he will be deported.Tawhedi, an Afghan national who entered the U.S. on Sept. 9, 2021 — nearly 20 years to the day after the 9/11 attacks — pleaded guilty to the same charges as well as to conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS. He has not yet been sentenced.According to the original criminal complaint, Tawhedi immersed himself and his family members in jihadist propaganda and communicated with an ISIS facilitator about his efforts to procure weapons for use in the terror plot.Footage taken on July 20, 2024, and later obtained by the FBI allegedly shows Tawhedi reading to his daughter and nephew about the supposed benefits of martyrdom, including a harem of 72 virgins and a crown of jewels.Abdullah Zada and Tawhedi planned to sell Zada’s home in Moore, Oklahoma, for $185,000 — Zada allegedly signed off on the sale — as well as other property owned by the family to fund both the terrorism plot and the repatriation of their family, including Zada but not her husband, back to Afghanistan on on Oct. 17, 2024, according to the complaint.It appears the Afghan matriarch played a big role in helping her son and son-in-law advance their plot.In an unclassified submission to the ATRC, the DOJ claimed:The FBI has developed information that NAZIRA is a supporter of ISIS, has formally pledged loyalty to ISIS, and supported TAWHEDI and ABDULLAH’s conspiracy. The FBI is further aware that NAZIRA, in collaboration with TAWHEDI, worked to indoctrinate her children with ISIS ideology and have them pledge loyalty to ISIS. NAZIRA worked with TAWHEDI to radicalize the family and to conceal their pro-ISIS teaching and planned family relocation to ISIS-controlled territory from her unsuspecting husband Abdul Haji Zada.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that “the allegations in this case show the matriarch of an ISIS-sympathizing family aiding in a plot to launch a mass casualty attack on American voters on Election Day.””The ATRC embodies the recognition that the government should not have to choose between allowing a dangerous alien to remain in the United States and disclosing sensitive classified information in a traditional removal proceeding,” stated Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg. “We will use all the tools at our disposal, including this court, to remove foreign nationals who betray our values and exploit our goodwill by supporting ISIS and terrorist plots.”Like Blaze News? 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