A Palestinian protester detained as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism has been released from an immigration detention centre in Texas. Leqaa Kordia, 33, was freed on Monday after more than a year in custody.
Kordia was arrested last March during a routine check-in with immigration officials. She claims her detention stemmed from her participation in a 2024 demonstration outside Columbia University against the Israel-Gaza war. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who met with President Trump last month, said he had asked for her release.
"I asked that the federal government release Leqaa Kordia and drop the cases against four others," Mamdani wrote on X. "I am grateful that Leqaa has been released this evening." Kordia was granted bond on March 13, and the Department of Homeland Security declined to challenge the decision.
Kordia arrived in the US in 2016 on a tourist visa and later obtained a student visa. She was approved for a green card in 2021 but reportedly let her student visa expire after following erroneous advice from a teacher. DHS alleges she overstayed her visa, which was terminated in 2022.
Human rights groups welcomed her release. "Leqaa can return to New Jersey to reunite with her family – just in time for Eid celebrations," said Justin Mazzola of Amnesty International USA. "But to be clear, Leqaa should not have been detained in the first place."
