Overview
- The Justice Department filed the first-ever petition with the Alien Terrorist Removal Court on July 15 and the tribunal held its first public hearing Thursday after Chief Judge Joan Ericksen found probable cause to proceed.
- Prosecutors say Nazira Haji Zada, a Fort Worth lawful permanent resident, pledged loyalty to ISIS, helped indoctrinate family members, and assisted a 2024 Election Day plot whose participants included her son and son-in-law.
- Most of the government’s exhibits remain classified and are being reviewed in closed sessions, while the publicly available unclassified FBI summary lists the key allegations the tribunal will consider.
- Zada’s court-appointed defenders argue the secrecy and the ATRC’s lower civil standard threaten her due-process rights, and Judge Ericksen has pushed the parties for supplemental briefing before scheduling a removal hearing.
- The tribunal is a civil forum that allows judges to examine classified material, provides counsel for those who cannot afford a lawyer, and any ruling could set precedent for future national-security deportations and appeals to the D.C. Circuit.