Justice Department secures deportation of Afghan woman through secretive ‘Alien Terrorist’ court

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/FILE

In a victory for President Donald Trump, the Justice Department announced Friday that it secured a first-of-its-kind deportation through the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a secretive tribunal that had never been used before the administration activated it this summer.

Nazira Haji Zada — an Afghan woman who was accused by the department of assisting her son and son-in-law in planning a foiled 2024 terror plot — was deported to her home country after conceding that she was an alien terrorist, according to a DOJ press release that said an order for her removal was signed by the court’s chief judge, Judge Joan Ericksen.

Lawyers for the woman had previously indicated they were challenging the constitutionality of the court, alleging its procedures violated due-process protections and an assortment of other constitutional amendments. It is unclear, however, whether those legal questions were fully aired before the court approved Haji Zada’s deportation. The public docket had gone quiet in recent weeks, after a round of public filings posted in August.

The removal order was not immediately posted to the docket Friday morning.

Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images/File

Trump administration faces first major test after activating court that hasn’t heard a case in 30 years

The court was created by Congress 30 years ago as a way for the federal government to quickly deport accused terrorists in situations where using the normal immigration proceedings risked exposure of national security secrets.

Friday’s press release indicated that at some point after the first-ever public hearing in the court on July 30, a removal order was approved by the judge and the woman decided against appealing it.

“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 the press release. “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 court’s procedures allow the Justice Department keep hidden from the public — and even from the immigrant they’re seeking to deport — classified information about why the government believes them to be an alien terrorist, a designation defined in immigration law. The cases go before Article III judges, who are seen as more independent than the Executive Branch immigration judges who consider routine deportation proceedings.

Past administrations had never sought to use the court, perhaps determining that no deportation case was so sensitive that it was worth risking a ruling finding the court unconstitutional.

Legal observers have questioned why the administration sought to use it now.

The Dallas-based Afghan woman who was deported did not speak English, and could not read or write, according to court filings.

Her son is currently serving a 15-year sentence for obtaining firearms to support a terrorist organization, having pleaded guilty to the charge. Her son-in-law — described in court filings as the driving force behind the ISIS-aligned terror plot — reached a plea deal in the prosecution but has not yet been sentenced.

In the sparse public filings the government submitted about Haji Zada to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, DOJ described her as indoctrinating her family with ISIS ideology and taking steps to support her sons’ terror plans, which targeted the 2024 election.

“This is a historic and vitally important step in our work to protect the U.S. homeland from terrorism,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in the release. “An individual who supported a plot by ISIS-sympathizing family members to commit an attack in America has paid the price for that.”

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/文件

司法部周五宣布，唐纳德·特朗普总统取得了一项胜利，通过“外籍恐怖分子驱逐法庭”成功执行了一项史无前例的驱逐令。该法庭是一个秘密机构，在今年夏天特朗普政府启动之前从未被使用过。

据美国司法部新闻稿称，阿富汗女子纳齐拉·哈吉·扎达（Nazira Haji Zada）被指控协助其子和女婿策划一起未遂的2024年恐怖袭击阴谋后，被遣返回国。新闻稿称，法院首席法官琼·埃里克森（Joan Ericksen）签署了遣返令。

该女子的律师此前曾表示，他们将对法院的合宪性提出质疑，声称其程序违反了正当程序保护和其他一系列宪法修正案。然而，目前尚不清楚在法院批准哈吉·扎达的驱逐出境之前，这些法律问题是否得到了充分讨论。自8月份公布一系列公开文件后，近几周来，公开的案件记录一直处于沉寂状态。

周五上午，驱逐令并未立即公布在案卷上。

Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images/档案照片

特朗普政府在启动一个30年来从未审理过案件的法院后，面临着第一个重大考验。

30年前，国会设立了该法院，目的是让联邦政府在正常移民程序可能泄露国家安全机密的情况下，能够迅速驱逐被指控的恐怖分子。

周五的新闻稿指出，在 7 月 30 日法庭举行首次公开​​听证会后，法官批准了驱逐令，该女子决定不上诉。

“这起具有里程碑意义的案件，使得这名外国恐怖分子被迅速遣返回原籍国，是国家安全和法治的胜利，”司法部长托德·布兰奇在新闻稿中表示。“那些支持和纵容恐怖主义的人不应该生活在美国，而这起案件是反恐法庭审理的首例此类案件，表明司法部将如何动用一切手段来保护我们的国家。”

法院的程序允许司法部向公众——甚至向被驱逐的移民本人——隐瞒政府认定其为“外国恐怖分子”（移民法中对此有明确定义）的机密信息。这些案件由第三条法官审理，他们被认为比负责审理常规驱逐程序的行政部门移民法官更加独立。

以往的政府从未寻求使用过该法院，或许他们认为没有哪个驱逐出境案件敏感到值得冒着被裁定该法院违宪的风险。

法律界人士质疑政府为何此时要动用这项技术。

根据法庭文件，这名居住在达拉斯的阿富汗妇女被驱逐出境，她不会说英语，也不会读写。

她的儿子目前因获取枪支支持恐怖组织而被判处15年监禁，他已认罪。她的女婿——法庭文件称其为与ISIS有关联的恐怖阴谋的幕后推手——已与检方达成认罪协议，但尚未被判刑。

在政府向外国恐怖分子驱逐法庭提交的关于哈吉·扎达的寥寥几份公开文件中，司法部称她向家人灌输 ISIS 意识形态，并采取措施支持她儿子的恐怖计划，这些计划的目标是 2024 年的选举。

“这是我们在保护美国本土免受恐怖主义侵害方面迈出的历史性且至关重要的一步，”联邦调查局局长卡什·帕特尔在新闻稿中表示。“一名支持其同情‘伊斯兰国’的家庭成员策划在美国发动袭击的个人为此付出了代价。”