The U.S. Department of Justice says it has completed the first-ever removal through the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a specialized federal court created by Congress in 1996 to hear certain terrorism-related removal cases.
In a September 11 announcement, DOJ said Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old Afghan national who had been living in Fort Worth, Texas, was removed from the United States after the court issued an order of removal on August 20, 2026.
According to DOJ, the government filed its application to remove Zada on July 15. She appeared in open court on July 30 before Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen. DOJ says Zada, represented by federal public defenders, later conceded that she met the statutory definition at issue in the proceeding and waived an appeal of the removal order.
The Justice Department also said the government relied in part on classified information permitted under the court’s governing statute. DOJ stated that Zada and her lawyers received approximately half a terabyte of documents supporting the government’s case.
The case is significant because DOJ describes it as the first matter ever brought before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court and the first removal completed through that court. The court itself confirms that Congress established the ATRC in 1996 as a specialized body composed of designated U.S. district judges who review applications seeking the removal of alleged alien terrorists. The court’s official website provides public information about its structure, procedures, and filings.
DOJ said Zada is now permanently inadmissible to the United States. The department linked the case to a previously investigated ISIS-inspired Election Day attack plot involving members of her family, while noting that the removal proceeding was handled through the separate ATRC process.
