WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The Trump administration’s activation of a long-dormant court to seek an Afghan woman’s deportation violates her constitutional rights, a defense lawyer argued Thursday at a hearing for the to be heard in the since its creation 30 years ago.
Attorney Matthew Farley urged the chief judge of the to dismiss the case against and immediately release his client. Judge Joan Ericksen denied Farley鈥檚 requests but said Zada’s lawyers can renew them as the case proceeds in the nation’s capital.
鈥淭his entire scheme is in violation of due process and unconstitutional.鈥� said Farley, an assistant federal public defender.
The court, established in 1996, had never received a petition until this month, when the Justice Department filed an application seeking Zada’s removal. The court has a specific authority to conduct deportation proceedings for individuals whom the Department of Justice classifies as 鈥渁lien terrorists.鈥�
FBI agents arrested her Tuesday at her Fort Worth, Texas, home. She is not charged with any crimes.
An dated July 15 said it 鈥渄eveloped information鈥� that she is an Islamic State supporter who had her children pledge their loyalty to the terrorist group. The memo says she 鈥渟upported鈥� a plot by relatives to carry out an ISIS-inspired attack in the United States.
Court filings identify her as the mother and mother-in-law of two Afghan men who were convicted in Oklahoma for their roles in the 2024 Election Day plot. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, was sentenced in November to 15 years in prison and court records show he previously agreed to be removed from the U.S. after his release.
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