Trump admin scores big deportation win in first-of-its-kind case before secretive court
WASHINGTON, DC: In a first-of-its-kind case, the Department of Justice secured a victory in a deportation case of an Afghan woman, dubbed an “alien t*******t.” She was a permanent resident living in Texas.
The Department announced on Friday, September 11, that Nazira Haji Zada has been deported through the Alien T******t Removal Court.
The court is a secretive tribunal that had never been used before the administration activated it this summer.
In a first, DOJ deports Afghan woman through alien court
As per the Friday announcement by the department, the 47-year-old Afghan woman, Nazira Haji Zada, was accused of helping her son and son-in-law plot a foiled 2024 violent attack.
She was deported to her home country after she conceded that she was involved, according to newly unsealed court filings and the announcement by the Justice Department.
She opted to leave the United States rather than continue litigating the case in the Removal Court, the department said.
After her lawyers and the Trump admin agreed to her deportation, major legal questions remain about the court’s secretive procedures.
Initially, Haji Zada’s lawyers were fighting the case. They were arguing that the new Alien T*******t Removal Court itself might be unconstitutional because its procedures did not give her the legal protections she was entitled to, including due process.
By August 20, she and the Justice Department reached a deal. She agreed to be deported to Afghanistan instead of continuing to fight the case.
Whether Removal Court followed a fair and constitutional process when deciding Haji Zada’s case remained unanswered.
Trump admin celebrates deportation
The Trump administration on Friday celebrated the deportation order as vindication of its decision to use the court, even if questions about its constitutionality remain unvetted.
“This landmark case, resulting in the prompt removal of this alien t*******t 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 t*******m 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,” he added.
The Court was first created in 1996 to allow the government to deport noncitizens who could not be removed by the traditional legal process because the information about their cases was classified and could not be made public for national security reasons.
