An Afghan legal permanent resident conceded that she was an honest citizen and that she supported ISIS.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict4 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Lawfare PodcastSep 14, 2026
Sources support the part of the claim that she conceded to supporting ISIS: DOJ and multiple outlets report she conceded being an 'alien terrorist' and was the matriarch of a supported ISIS-inspired plot. They contradict the 'honest citizen' element, since she was a lawful permanent resident, not a citizen, and the concession was to alien-terrorist status, not honesty.
We could not find who says this in the episode. Shown here; not scored.
What was said
… So that happened about two months ago, and then things went really quiet for a month, and then we found out today that, um, the woman agreed with the government that, uh, delegations that she was both an honest citizen and then that she supported ISIS. She conceded both of those points and basically agreed for the government to allow her to be deported back to Afghanistan. Um, now, two things are a little bit remarkable. …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Sources describe her as a lawful permanent resident and never as a citizen, and her concession was to 'alien terrorist' status rather than to being an honest citizen, so the 'honest citizen' element is contradicted.[1][4][5][6]
Supports. The Justice Department reports Nazira Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident, conceded she is an 'alien terrorist' and, as matriarch, supported an ISIS-inspired Election Day 2024 mass-shooting plot.[2][3][5][6]
Supports. Court filings show she waived appeal and agreed to the removal order, and Politico reports DOJ claims she pledged allegiance to ISIS; this supports the 'conceded she supported ISIS' element as the government's account.[7][8]
Context. She was never charged with a crime; the concession occurred in a sealed civil proceeding before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, and the supporting allegations rest largely on government filings and classified evidence.[1][4][8]
Sources
8 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 primary, 3 tier 2, 2 not rated
- 1Afghan woman deported from US in first use of secretive ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts, context
- 2Department of Justice Removes Alien Terrorist in First Use of ...justice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3Department of Justice Removes Alien Terrorist in First Use of United States Alien Terrorist Removal Courtuscis.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Afghan woman in Texas dubbed an "alien terrorist" is ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, context
- 5Alien Terrorist Removal Court holds first-ever casenpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 6DOJ Ejects Green Card Holder Using Alien Terrorist ...newrepublic.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 7DOJ avoids legal battle over secretive terrorism courtpolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 8Afghan Immigrant Deported in First 'Alien Terrorist' Order (1)news.bloomberglaw.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The government alleged that the Afghan legal permanent resident planned to relocate to Afghanistan with her family while her son and son-in-law carried out a mass attack in November 2024.True
- The Alien Terrorist Removal Court judge ordered the Afghan legal permanent resident to be deported to Afghanistan.True
- The attorneys for the Afghan legal permanent resident are members of the Federal Defender's Office out of DC.True
- An Afghan legal permanent resident was deported less than 2 months after a case was filed in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.True
- The removal order for the Afghan legal permanent resident was issued on August 20, 2026, or several days after that.True