A Palestinian woman has been released from an immigration detention center more than a year after she was arrested for overstaying her student visa following her participation in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
Leqaa Kordia, 33, is the last person arrested during those demonstrations to be released from custody. Her lawyers argued that the Trump administration targeted her for protesting military actions in Gaza.
Her visa was terminated in January 2022 for lack of attendance, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
On Friday, an immigration judge ordered that Kordia be released on $100,000 bond. It was the third time the same judge had ruled in her favor. Federal lawyers fought the judge’s previous rulings, keeping her detained despite the order.
In a statement Monday, a DHS spokesperson said Kordia was arrested last March for violations related to her overstaying her student visa. The previous year, the spokesperson added, local law enforcement had arrested her for her involvement in protests at Columbia University.
“The facts of this case have not changed: Leqaa Kordia is in the country illegally after violating the terms of her visa," the spokesperson said. "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.”
At Kordia's third bond hearing, the judge described the government’s arguments against her release as “disingenuous,” according to a statement from her lawyers forwarded to NBC News by the Institute for Middle East Understanding.
“Ms. Kordia has missed family gatherings and celebrations, has missed out on joining further, lawful protests, spent Ramadan in confinement twice, and was hospitalized for three days after suffering the first seizure of her life,” the statement read.
She experienced fainting episodes and other signs of poor health during her detention, advocates said. In February, Kordia suffered a seizure and was admitted to a hospital near the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. Her legs were chained to a hospital bed for 72 hours, according to Kordia's lawyers.
DHS said all federal detainees receive medical care in emergencies. “For many illegal aliens this is the best healthcare they receive in their entire lives,” DHS said in emailed statement last month.
Kordia's ordeal brought renewed attention to her arrest, which lawyers argued was carried out in retaliation for her pro-Palestinian activism. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for her case to be dropped during a conversation with President Donald Trump at the end of February.
Nearly 200 relatives of Kordia's have died in Gaza since war broke out in 2023, her lawyers said.
Kordia’s cousin said her time in detention took a massive toll on their family.
“We are overwhelmed with relief and gratitude at the release of our beloved Leqaa Kordia,” Hamzah Abushaban said in a statement. “This past year has taken an unimaginable toll on Leqaa and our entire family.”
“No family should have to endure what ours has experienced," the statement continued. "Today, we celebrate Leqaa’s return home. Tomorrow, we continue the fight for justice."
CORRECTION (March 16, 10:29 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated when the Gaza war began and where Kordia’s relatives died. The war broke out in 2023, not 2024, and Kordia’s relatives died in Gaza, not the West Bank.
