New York, NY—Today, Leqaa Kordia was released from ICE detention in Texas after spending a year in jail which resulted in her declining health and hospitalization. She was the last remaining pro-Palestine protester in detention from the Trump administration’s 2025 assault on free speech. Kordia was arrested on March 13, 2025 at a voluntary immigration check-in in Newark, New Jersey. The New York Police Department had shared information with ICE about Kordia’s previous arrest at a protest. Dallas Immigration Court Judge Tara Naselow-Nahas ordered Kordia’s release from the Prairieland Detention Center on $100,000 bond.
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition:
“Leqaa Kordia – who never should have been jailed by ICE in the first place – is finally free. Her release cannot undo the harm of a year behind bars, but it is a critical step toward justice. Kordia’s case lays bare the Trump administration’s blatant disregard for free speech and human rights, and how far it will go to wield power against the very people our government is meant to serve. Our immigration system must never be used as a tool of repression, and her release is proof that these authoritarian overreaches will not go unchecked. Now the government must drop its case against Kordia so she can return to a life of peace and normalcy.”