Free Leqaa Kordia, Protester Held In Prairieland Detention Center

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and its Palestine Subcommittee stand with Leqaa Kordia, her family, attorneys, and advocates across the country to demand her immediate release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center.

Leqaa is the last protester to remain in ICE detention for pro-Palestine speech during protests at Columbia University. She is a Palestinian from Ramallah, and she has lost 300 family members in Gaza since the escalation of Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people in 2023. Leqaa was first detained at a routine immigration check in on March 13th, 2025. After being taken from her check in, she was immediately moved from New Jersey to the Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, far from her family and legal team. An immigration judge has granted Leqaa bond and ordered her released twice, yet she has remained detained.

While in detention, Leqaa's rights have been violated daily. She has been denied proper food and clothing, particularly for her to adhere to her deeply held Muslim faith. The facility is filthy, and Leqaa and the other detainees have to live amongst vermin, contributing to Leqaa's severe weight loss and rapidly deteriorating health. These squalid conditions in ICE custody are precisely why on July 4, 2025, folks gathered at the Prairieland Detention Center for a noise demonstration in support of detained immigrants, resulting in extreme, unprecedented state and federal charges in North Texas. Likewise, on January 28, 2026, community members rallied against ICE outside of the notorious "baby jail," the ICE Dilley Detention Center in South Texas, only to be met by violence and tear gas.

On February 6, 2026, Leqaa was hospitalized and disappeared for more than 72 hours after falling, hitting her head and suffering a seizure. Neither her family nor her lawyers were notified of the injuries. The only reason they found out what happened was due to a report by someone who had been detained in the same facility. Despite multiple inquiries and contacting every area hospital, Leqaa's lawyers and family were denied access to see her, speak to her, or verify her condition. After being released from the hospital, she was hastily returned to the ICE detention center.

We demand Leqaa's immediate release and that the Department of Homeland Security cease terrorizing our communities by targeting and detaining immigrants across the the United States.