Columbia University protester released after one year in immigration custody
Columbia University protester released after one year in immigration custody
A Palestinian woman who was detained during Gaza war protests at Columbia University has been released after a year in immigration detention in Texas, her lawyers say.
Leqaa Kordia, 33, was among more than 100 demonstrators arrested outside the New York City college’s campus in April 2024, but she was released.
She was arrested again in March 2025 during a routine immigration check-in. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said she had overstayed her student visa, which was terminated in 2022 “for lack of attendance”.
Federal officials also launched an investigation into funds she sent overseas, which she said was for her family. She has not been charged with a crime.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m free! I’m free! Finally, after one year,” Kordia told reporters after emerging from the detention centre near Dallas on Monday.
DHS has alleged Kordia provided financial support to individuals living in nations hostile to the US. Her cousin told the BBC’s US partner CBS that she had sent money to relatives overseas.
An immigration judge found “overwhelming evidence” that Kordia was truthful about the funds, reports the Associated Press news agency.
At her third bail hearing on Friday, an immigration judge described the government’s arguments against her release as “disingenuous” and ordered that she be released on $100,000 (£75,000) bail.
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement to the BBC: “The facts of this case have not changed: Leqaa Kordia is in the country illegally after violating the terms of her visa.
“The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system, and will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country.”
Last month, Kordia was admitted to hospital for three days after having a seizure at the Alvarado, Texas, detention facility, where she also had fainting episodes.
She alleged that she had been chained to a bed and that the facility had filthy and inhumane conditions.
Kordia, who is from the West Bank, can now return to where she resides in New Jersey as her case continues, her attorneys said in a statement to the BBC.
Sarah Sherman-Stokes, supervising attorney with the Boston University School of Law Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, said that Kordia was being “unlawfully targeted by the government for her advocacy for Palestinian rights”.
Kordia’s cousin, Hamzah Abushaban, welcomed her release.
“This past year has taken an unimaginable toll on Leqaa and our entire family,” Abushaban told the BBC.
“We are grateful to our community that stood beside us every step of the way, and for the countless prayers offered during this past Ramadan – those moments of sincerity and hope carried us through some of our darkest days.”
Kordia was detained days after the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent figure during the Gaza war protests at Columbia University in 2024.
The detentions came during US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on international student protesters, which sparked a debate over free speech.
By BBC News