A Palestinian woman from New Jersey said she will continue her activism — and her fight to stay in the U.S. — after her release last week from an immigration detention facility in Texas.
Wearing a keffiyeh and accompanied by her legal team, city officials, family members and advocates, Leqaa Kordia spoke at a news conference at city hall in Paterson, New Jersey, where she has been living for the last 10 years.
“I'm blessed, I'm grateful,” Kordia said. “It's been a long year, a tough year, in ICE dungeons, but I'm finally free."
Kordia left the Prairieland Detention Center last week after a year in federal immigration custody. A federal judge had granted her a $100,000 bond earlier this month and ordered her release for the third time since she was detained last March.
Kordia described what she said was the “injustice” she experienced over the past year. While in custody she had a seizure and was hospitalized.
“The conditions were horrible to the point that there are no words to describe it,” she said.
Among the groups Kordia thanked was the Dallas Muslim community “for their love, kindness, support, and prayers." Kordia also acknowledged that her battle to gain her freedom is not done – but called her release from ICE detention “the first step.”
Sarah Sherman-Stokes, an immigration attorney and professor at Boston University, said while Kordia’s release from the detention center was important, it wasn’t the end of the road for her.
Sherman-Stokes represented Kordia at her last hearing and said Kordia remains in removal proceedings — and is still at risk of deportation.
“We're going to continue fighting ... in court for as long as it takes, whatever it takes to make sure that she can be safe and protected here in New York,” Sherman-Stokes said.
Kordia, whose mother is a U.S. citizen, also has a pending family petition.
She was the last out of four Columbia University protestors detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be released from federal custody. She had previously been arrested in 2024 for protesting at Columbia against Israel’s war in Gaza.
She and the other protesters said they were targeted for their pro-Palestinian activism. An ICE spokesperson said Kordia was arrested for allegedly overstaying her visa.
Mahmoud Khalil, a protester who spent more than100 days in ICE custody in Louisiana before he was released, spoke at Kordia’s news conference.
"I never felt that I was fully free while I knew that you were suffering in the same place where I was,” Khalil said, "because I know what it means to be detained in these dungeons without any eyes, without any sort of dignity, because that's what they try to do, to strip you of your dignity.”
Khalil was arrested last March shortly before Kordia. His green card was revoked by immigration officials, and he is still fighting his deportation case.
For her immediate plans, Kordia plans to spend time with her family and friends and continue her advocacy work for Palestinians.
"Through everything they endured helped keep me strong and motivated to fight for my own freedom," Kordia said. “Now that I'm out, I promise to make up for all the lost time. I use this little inspiration to advocate for their freedom, the freedom of all."
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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