The Alien Terrorist Removal Court judge ordered the Afghan legal permanent resident to be deported to Afghanistan.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 92%
The Lawfare PodcastSep 14, 2026
Multiple tier1 sources, including a DHS primary statement, confirm that ATRC Chief Judge Joan Ericksen issued a removal order on August 20, 2026 for Nazira Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident, and that she was deported to Afghanistan. The post's 'the judge' refers to this ATRC judge in the same case, so the extraction is faithful.
What was said
… And so it's, it's come to the be this interesting turn of events where the government's main allegation was, okay, she's gonna flee to Afghanistan, and now, uh, it's, it's ended up that the judge has ordered her to be deported back there anyway. So, um, it sounds like, to the extent that the ATRC has, uh, due process problems, this case may not be a particular example of them. Is that, uh, do you, do you find that there's any reason for concern that some great injustice was done to this woman? …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. DHS states that the ATRC issued an order of removal on August 20 for Nazira Haji Zada, who was then removed to her country of origin, Afghanistan.[3]
Supports. Reuters reports that Zada, a lawful permanent resident residing in Texas, was deported after agreeing not to continue contesting her removal in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.[1]
Supports. Bloomberg Law reports that Chief Judge Joan Ericksen of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court ordered the removal of Zada, a lawful permanent resident, with the order issued Aug. 20.[6]
Supports. AP and NPR report that Zada was deported to Afghanistan after conceding she was an 'alien terrorist' in the court's first-ever case.[2][4]
Supports. Politico reports that the agreement was approved by Judge Joan Ericksen, the presiding judge of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.[5]
Context. Zada left the country around August 26, and the government did not disclose the removal until about two weeks later, when the order was unsealed on September 11.[7][8]
Sources
8 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 2 tier 2, 3 not rated
- 1Afghan woman deported from US in first use of secretive ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Afghan woman facing charges in obscure court is deported | AP ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3DHS Announces Removal of Alien Terrorist in First Use of United States Alien Terrorist Removal Courtdhs.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Alien Terrorist Removal Court holds first-ever casenpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5DOJ avoids legal battle over secretive terrorism courtpolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 6Afghan Immigrant Deported in First ‘Alien Terrorist' Court Ordernews.bloomberglaw.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7US Alien Terrorist Removal Court issues first deportation order in 30 ...jns.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 8DOJ uses Alien Terrorist Removal Court for first time to deport Afghan womanwashingtonexaminer.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- 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
- 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 conceded that she was an honest citizen and that she supported ISIS.Mixed
- 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