Palestinian Activist Freed from Texas ICE Custody Vows to Keep Fighting Deportation
After a year in detention, Leqaa Kordia returns home to New Jersey determined to continue her advocacy — and her legal battle to remain in the U.S.
A week after walking out of the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, Palestinian activist Leqaa Kordia stood before supporters at Paterson City Hall in New Jersey and declared that her fight was far from over.
Kordia, who has lived in Paterson for a decade, was released last week after spending a year in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Appearing in a tan sweatsuit, a blue hijab, and a keffiyeh, she told reporters her freedom felt “long overdue.”
“I’m blessed, I’m grateful,” she said. “It’s been a long year, a tough year in ICE dungeons, but I’m finally free.”
According to KERANews, her release followed a federal judge’s decision earlier this month to grant a $100,000 bond — the third time a court had ordered her freed since her March 2025 arrest. While detained, she suffered a seizure and was hospitalized, an experience she described as part of the “injustice” of her confinement. “The conditions were horrible to the point that there are no words to describe it,” she said.
Kordia was joined by family, community members, city officials, and her legal team. Among the groups she thanked were members of the Dallas Muslim community, who had rallied on her behalf. Yet she emphasized that the battle ahead remains steep.
Her attorney, Sarah Sherman-Stokes, a Boston University immigration law professor, said that despite last week’s release, Kordia remains in removal proceedings, leaving her at continued risk of deportation. “We’re going to continue fighting in court for as long as it takes,” she said.
Kordia’s mother is a U.S. citizen, and she has a pending family‑based petition that could play a critical role in her case.
She was the last of four Columbia University protesters detained by ICE to be released. The group maintains they were targeted for their pro‑Palestinian activism following campus demonstrations against the war in Gaza. ICE has said Kordia was detained for a visa overstay.
At Monday’s news conference, fellow activist Mahmoud Khalil, who spent more than 100 days in ICE custody last year, described feeling incomplete until he knew Kordia was free. “I know what it means to be detained in these dungeons,” he said, “because they try to strip you of your dignity.”
For now, Kordia says she wants to reconnect with loved ones — and continue the advocacy that sustained her. “Now that I’m out,” she said, “I promise to make up for lost time and fight for the freedom of all.”