Leqaa Kordia, left, embraces friends, family and suppporters after being released from the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, Monday, March 16, 2026.
Tony Gutierrez/AP
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Tony Gutierrez/AP
ALVARADO, Texas — After being the last individual detained under the Trump administration’s 2025 move against pro-Palestinian campus activism, a Palestinian woman was released Monday after a year in detention.
Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old from the West Bank who has resided in New Jersey since 2016, was held in a Texas immigration facility since last March. Her detention was partly due to her involvement in a protest at Columbia University in 2024.
“I can’t express how I feel. I’m free! I’m finally free after a year,” Kordia joyfully told reporters upon leaving the detention center.
An immigration judge ordered her release on bond three times. The government contested the first two decisions, but after not challenging the third, Kordia was released Monday on a $100,000 bond.
Kordia expressed her eagerness to return home and embrace her mother but vowed to continue advocating for those still detained.
“There is a significant amount of injustice here,” she remarked. “Many people shouldn’t be here at all.”
Kordia was one of several individuals arrested following the Trump administration’s crackdown on noncitizens who opposed Israel’s military actions in Gaza, targeting numerous university students and scholars.
Among them was Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student from Columbia University involved in campus protests, who was detained for three months in a Louisiana immigration facility before release. Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University student who co-authored an opinion piece criticizing the university’s stance on Israel, was held for six weeks.
Others chose not to resist detention—one Columbia doctoral student fled the U.S. after her visa was revoked and immigration agents arrived at her apartment.
The arrests of activists like Khalil faced criticism from officials and advocates. However, Kordia, not being a student or affiliated with a support group, largely went unnoticed during her detention.
Kordia participated in a 2024 protest at Columbia University after losing many relatives in Gaza, where she has strong personal connections. She was among approximately 100 arrested by city police, although charges against her were dismissed and sealed. The Trump administration received information on her arrest from the New York City Police Department, allegedly for a money laundering investigation.
Kordia was arrested on March 13, 2025, during a check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New Jersey. She was immediately detained and transported to the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas.
Federal authorities accused Kordia of overstaying her visa and scrutinized financial transactions sent to her family in the Middle East, which she claimed were for assisting relatives affected by the conflict.
Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, previously criticized Kordia for allegedly “providing financial support to individuals in countries hostile to the U.S.”
The department stated via email Monday night, “The facts remain unchanged: Leqaa Kordia is unlawfully in the country after violating visa terms.”
“The Trump administration is committed to reinstating the rule of law in our immigration system and will continue to enforce the arrest, detention, and deportation of those unlawfully present,” the statement continued.
An immigration judge concluded there was “overwhelming evidence” that Kordia’s claims about the payments were truthful.
Kordia was hospitalized for three days after suffering a seizure following a fainting episode at the detention center.
During a hearing on Friday, Kordia’s lawyers argued that her neurological condition worsened in custody, heightening her seizure risk. They emphasized she could reside with U.S. citizen relatives and posed no flight risk.
The immigration judge, Tara Naslow, concurred.
“I’ve reviewed the testimony and thousands of pages of evidence from the respondent, with limited evidence from the government,” Naslow stated.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani mentioned on X that he requested her release during a meeting with President Donald Trump last month.
“I am thankful that Leqaa has been released from ICE custody after over a year of detention for advocating Palestinian rights,” Mamdani remarked.
