Alien Terrorist Removal Court deports legal US resident to Afghanistan in first-ever case

FILE – The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 2026, in Washington. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

For the first time, the Justice Department brought a case before a decades-old but until now unused special court to deport a legal US resident to Afghanistan after she conceded to being an “alien terrorist,” court records show.

Prosecutors alleged Nazira Haji Zada, 47, originally from Afghanistan,