Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian activist and Latest Jersey resident, has been released from federal custody after spending one year in a Texas immigration detention center. Kordia, whose release was ordered in mid-March after a judge set a $100,000 bond, described her time in the facility as a period of systematic psychological and physical breakdown.
The release marks the finish of a grueling year for the Leqaa Kordia Palestinian protester, who was detained in March of last year during what she believed was a routine meeting with immigration officials in Newark, New Jersey. Her case has become a focal point for advocates highlighting the intersection of U.S. Immigration enforcement and the targeting of pro-Palestinian activists.
Kordia’s detention began after she voluntarily met with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and her legal counsel. According to Kordia, agents informed her lawyer that she would be transported to upstate New York, but she was instead taken in an unmarked vehicle to an airport and flown to Texas. Upon her arrival, officials told her the detention was due to an issue with her immigration application—a claim she disputes, noting she had an approved I-130 petition for an alien relative filed by her U.S. Citizen mother.
Conditions inside the Prairieland Detention Center
Kordia was held at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, a facility she characterizes not as a detention center, but as a dungeon. She describes a system designed to break the spirit of detainees through overcrowding and the deprivation of basic human needs.
During her tenure at the facility, Kordia reports that rooms designed for 37 people often held between 66 and 100 detainees. For three months, she says she was forced to sleep on the floor due to a lack of available bunks. She described the food as barely edible and the medical care as nearly nonexistent, citing instances where complaints about broken showers or inadequate healthcare were met with the phrase, “This proves what it is.”
The facility’s impact extended beyond physical hardship. Kordia observed other detainees in precarious situations, including pregnant women with high-risk pregnancies who she claims were denied proper medical attention, and elderly individuals who had lived in the U.S. For decades before being detained for civil immigration offenses.
Medical crisis and allegations of abuse
The most harrowing period of Kordia’s detention occurred in February, when she suffered her first-ever seizure. Kordia states that she had been suffering from a severe fever for days prior to the event but was denied medicine or medical evaluation by facility staff.
Following the seizure, she was transported to a hospital, where she alleges she was treated more like a prisoner than a patient. Kordia describes being chained to her hospital bed with heavy chains rather than handcuffs. She recalls begging guards to free her hands because she felt weak, only to be told by a lieutenant that the chains would remain because the officer “said so.”
During this hospitalization, Kordia says she was denied access to her mother and her legal team, leaving her feeling “kidnapped” and isolated during a critical health crisis.
A pattern of targeting activists
Kordia’s arrest did not happen in isolation. Her detention occurred less than a week after federal agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and organizer. Khalil was jailed for 104 days before his release. Kordia is believed to be the last person held in a series of detentions targeting pro-Palestinian campus activists.
While Kordia was arrested during a Gaza solidarity protest at Columbia University in April 2024, those specific charges were dropped the following day. Her year-long detention was instead tied to her immigration status and the broader crackdown on activists.
Timeline of Detention and Release
| Timeframe | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| March (Previous Year) | Arrest in Newark | Detained during voluntary ICE meeting; flown to Texas. |
| April 2024 | Columbia University Protest | Arrested at protest; charges dropped within 24 hours. |
| February | Medical Emergency | Hospitalized following first seizure; reports being chained to bed. |
| Mid-March | Court Order | Released on a $100,000 bond. |
Parallels to the West Bank
For Kordia, the experience in Texas was an echo of her childhood in the occupied West Bank. Having grown up under military occupation, she recalls the trauma of military checkpoints and witnessing the humiliation of her father by soldiers. She describes a childhood marked by gas bombs and the sight of civilians being killed in the streets.
Kordia says the methods used by ICE agents—the humiliation, the mental torture, and the systematic attempt to break a person’s will—mirrored the treatment she saw Palestinian prisoners receive in the West Bank. She argues that these “ICE dungeons” are built to coerce people into accepting deportation, even if returning to their home country means facing further injustice.
The personal stakes for Kordia are immense; she reports that more than 200 members of her extended family in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces.
Disclaimer: This article contains descriptions of medical emergencies and detention conditions. For those affected by similar issues, resources are available through the ACLU or legal aid organizations specializing in immigration rights.
Kordia’s legal team continues to monitor her status as she reunites with her family in New Jersey. The next phase of her case will involve the resolution of her immigration status and the ongoing petition for her green card.
We invite readers to share their thoughts on the intersection of activism and immigration enforcement in the comments below.
