Alien Terrorist Removal Court Holds First Hearing As Defense Challenges Secrecy
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court held its first hearing on Thursday, July 30, 2026, as the Justice Department moved to deport 47-year-old lawful permanent resident Nazira Haji Zada in a Fort Worth, Texas, proceeding.[1]
At the roughly hourlong hearing, Haji Zada's federal public defender, Matthew Farley, argued the court's secrecy violates her due process rights because the government relies mostly on classified evidence and offers only a very short public summary.[2] An FBI unclassified summary cited by prosecutors alleges Haji Zada pledged loyalty to ISIS, indoctrinated her children and planned to move the family to ISIS-held territory.[3] DOJ says Haji Zada's son and son-in-law pleaded guilty in Oklahoma to buying two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds in a plot tied to the 2024 election and will be deported after prison.[3] Judge Joan Ericksen said the tribunal is still building infrastructure after being "dormant and untested for three decades," and she denied a defense motion for Haji Zada's immediate release.[3] Ericksen scheduled a separate detention hearing for the following week.[2]
Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in 1996 to allow deportation cases to use classified evidence in ways ordinary immigration courts could not.[1] The tribunal was largely dormant for roughly 30 years until the Justice Department revived it this month to seek Haji Zada's removal, a move the administration promoted.[4] Critics say the court's secrecy — allowing prosecutors to substitute classified material with short public summaries — raises constitutional questions about whether residents can fairly challenge removal.[5]
Fox News and other early accounts emphasized the rarity of the court's activation and its decades-long dormancy.[4] Later reporting in the New York Times, CBS and others shifted focus to defense claims that classified-evidence rules and thin public summaries could undercut a fair ability to contest the government's allegations.[5]
Show source details & analysis (7 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- On Thursday, July 30, 2026, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court — revived after roughly 30 years of dormancy — held its first hearing as the Justice Department invoked the tribunal to seek deportation.
- The respondent is [Nazira Haji Zada],(https://www.npr.org/2026/07/30/g-s1-136289/alien-terrorist-removal-court-isis-terror-plot) a 47-year-old lawful permanent resident living in Fort Worth, Texas, who appeared before the court on July 30, 2026.
- The Justice Department, with the invocation promoted by the Trump administration, is using the ATRC to seek Haji Zada’s deportation, alleging ties to an Election Day 2024 plot and the government calling her the “matriarch of an ISIS‑sympathizing family.”
- At the July 30 hearing, court‑appointed federal public defender Matthew Farley argued the ATRC scheme is unconstitutional and violates due process because the government relies on a very short unclassified summary while most evidence remains classified.
- An FBI unclassified summary cited by the government alleges Haji Zada formally pledged loyalty to ISIS, indoctrinated her children with ISIS ideology and planned to relocate the family to ISIS‑controlled territory.
- Justice Department lawyers say Haji Zada’s son and son‑in‑law pleaded guilty in Oklahoma to buying two AK‑47‑style rifles and 500 rounds from an undercover FBI agent in a plot tied to the 2024 election and will be deported after serving prison sentences.
- The ATRC was created by Congress in 1996 to allow use of classified evidence in deportation proceedings, meaning targets (including green card holders) generally cannot see classified evidence against them even though lawful permanent residents are entitled to appointed counsel with security clearances.
- Presiding Chief Judge Joan Ericksen said the tribunal is still standing up infrastructure after being “dormant and untested for three decades,” noted the court lacks an electronic filing system, denied an immediate-release request and scheduled a separate detention hearing for the following week.
📰 Source Timeline (7)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
July 30, 2026
5:35 PM
Defendant in Alien Terrorist Removal case challenges secrecy as due process violation
New information:
- On Thursday, July 30, 2026, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court held a public hearing where Nazira Haji Zada’s federal public defenders argued the ATRC process itself violates her due process rights because it relies on a very short unclassified summary while most evidence remains classified.
- Defense attorney Matthew Farley told Judge Joan N. Ericksen that allowing removal of a lawful permanent resident based on a two-paragraph unclassified summary is a due process violation.
- The article quotes from an FBI unclassified summary alleging that Haji Zada formally pledged loyalty to ISIS, indoctrinated her children with ISIS ideology and planned to relocate her family to ISIS-controlled territory.
- Judge Ericksen, presiding as the ATRC’s chief judge, stated during the roughly hourlong July 30 hearing that the tribunal is in the 'early stages in implementing infrastructure' and that 'there may be moments of inelegance,' emphasizing her commitment to carefulness, fairness and the rule of law.
- The government restated its allegation that Haji Zada aided a planned ISIS-inspired mass shooting targeting American voters on Election Day 2024, while noting that her son and son-in-law have already pleaded guilty to buying two assault-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition and will be deported after serving prison sentences.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a same‑day statement describing Haji Zada as 'the matriarch of an ISIS-sympathizing family' and asserting that the ATRC application shows 'terrorists have no place in the United States of America.'
- The article notes that Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident living in Texas, has not been publicly charged with a crime even as DOJ seeks her removal through the ATRC.
- Judge Ericksen said a separate detention hearing for Haji Zada will be scheduled for the following week as part of the ATRC process.
5:29 PM
Afghan woman to fight U.S. efforts to deport her over "alien terrorist" claim
New information:
- The CBS article specifies that Nazira Haji Zada is a U.S. lawful permanent resident living in Texas and has no criminal history or prior terrorism charges.
- At the July 30, 2026 hearing, court-appointed federal public defender Matthew Farley told Judge Joan Ericksen he will vigorously fight deportation and called the Alien Terrorist Removal Court scheme unconstitutional and a "runaround" to bringing a criminal case.
- Farley moved for Haji Zada's immediate release at the hearing; Judge Ericksen denied that request, with the issue to be revisited at a later detention hearing.
- The article details that targets of Alien Terrorist Removal Court proceedings, including green card holders, cannot see classified evidence against them or challenge how it was collected, though lawful permanent residents are entitled to appointed counsel with a security clearance.
- Judge Ericksen described the court as lacking even an electronic filing system and said staff are working to stand up infrastructure for a tribunal that has been "dormant and untested for three decades."
- Justice Department lawyers allege Haji Zada helped "radicalize" her family to support ISIS; her son and son-in-law were previously convicted in Oklahoma after pleading guilty to buying two AK‑47‑style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI agent in a plot tied to the 2024 election.
- The article reports that Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hayden O'Byrne initially offered only vague assertions about classified evidence during the hearing before Judge Ericksen pressed for more detail.
4:57 PM
A ‘Zombie Court’ for Terror Cases Awakens
New information:
- The New York Times article provides additional detail on how the Alien Terrorist Removal Court’s secrecy rules operate in practice, including the extent to which defense counsel may be barred from seeing classified evidence and how summaries may be substituted.
- It further elaborates on why the tribunal has been dormant since its 1996 creation and what internal DOJ deliberations and political calculations preceded its revival for the Nazira Haji Zada case.
- The piece situates the Haji Zada proceedings within a broader pattern of Trump administration terrorism and immigration enforcement tools, comparing the tribunal’s powers and safeguards to ordinary immigration courts and federal criminal courts.
1:10 PM
Alien Terrorist Removal Court to hold its first-ever hearing after 30 years
New information:
- The article specifies that Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old lawful permanent resident based in Fort Worth, Texas, will appear for the court’s first hearing on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
- It confirms that Judge Joan Ericksen, the chief judge of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, will preside over the case.
- The piece reiterates DOJ’s aim to deport Haji Zada using the Alien Terrorist Removal Court and restates that Congress created the tribunal in 1996 to allow use of classified evidence in deportation proceedings.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s statement characterizes Haji Zada as 'the matriarch of an ISIS-sympathizing family' and ties the case to a plot to attack U.S. voters on Election Day 2024.
12:34 PM
DOJ Seeks to Use Secretive Court to Deport Mother of Convicted ISIS Supporter
New information:
- Article specifies that DOJ is using the Alien Terrorist Removal Court to seek the deportation of the mother of a man convicted in the U.S. of supporting ISIS, providing more detail on her relationship to the convicted supporter than earlier accounts.
- Article clarifies additional procedural details about how DOJ is attempting to proceed in the secretive court in this specific case, beyond the basic fact of invoking the tribunal.
- Article offers further description of the court's secrecy, how proceedings differ from regular immigration courts, and how defense access to evidence may be limited in this matter.
4:29 AM
Trump admin invokes 30-year dormant terror court as it seeks to deport Afghan woman tied to Election Day plot
New information:
- Fox News reports the Trump administration has invoked the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in the case of an Afghan woman allegedly tied to an Election Day plot, confirming the same use described previously and framing it as the first activation of the 30‑year‑old tribunal.
- The Fox report emphasizes that the court has been dormant for roughly three decades and is now being used specifically to try to deport this Afghan woman over alleged terrorism connections.
- Article publication on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, reinforces that the application is active and that the administration is proceeding with the ATRC mechanism against this specific respondent.