A Palestinian protester has been released from an immigration detention centre in Texas, marking the end of detention for the last known individual arrested in the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism.
Leqaa Kordia, 33, was freed on Monday from the Prairieland Detention Center. 'I don't know what to say. I'm free! I'm free!' she told reporters. Kordia was arrested in March 2025 during a routine immigration check-in, which she claims was linked to her participation in a 2024 demonstration outside Columbia University against the Israel-Hamas war.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had raised Kordia's case with President Trump last month, asking for her release. 'I am grateful that Leqaa has been released this evening from ICE custody after more than a year in detention for speaking up for Palestinian rights,' Mamdani wrote on X.
Kordia was granted bond on March 13, and the Department of Homeland Security did not challenge the decision. A DHS spokesperson maintained that Kordia was in the country illegally after violating her visa terms. Her attorneys say she overstayed her student visa following erroneous advice from a teacher.
Human rights groups welcomed the release. Justin Mazzola of Amnesty International USA said: 'After spending a harrowing year in ICE custody, Leqaa can return to New Jersey to reunite with her family... But to be clear, Leqaa should not have been detained in the first place.'
Kordia alleged mistreatment in detention, including being chained in a hospital for 72 hours after a seizure. Her release comes amid ongoing negotiations between the Trump administration and universities over campus antisemitism, which led to arrests and visa cancellations for several pro-Palestinian activists.
