USA22 April, 20267 min read
Palestinian Activist Leqaa Kordia Released on $100,000 Bail After Over a Year in Texas Detention
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Detained in Texas for over a year before release. Released on bail following a court order.
Release After ICE Detention
Palestinian activist Leqaa Kordia was released on bail after more than a year in U.S. immigration detention in Texas, returning to her family in New Jersey following a court order.
“The judge said the government's arguments against release were ‘deceptive.’”
Mondoweiss reported that Kordia “has returned to her home in Paterson, N.J.” after being confined in Prairieland Detention Center in North Texas, and that her release was “widely celebrated.”
Amad Update said authorities released the activist “on bail from a migrant detention center in the state of Texas,” and described her as “the last activist who supported demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza to have been detained.”
Multiple outlets tied the release to an immigration judge’s decision on Friday, with the bail set at $100,000, and they described it as the third hearing after two earlier release orders were suspended.
The judge’s language also appeared across reports: Amad Update said the judge said the government’s arguments against release were “deceptive,” while Al Jazeera net similarly reported that “The judge said the government's arguments against release were 'deceptive.'”
In a press moment after her release, Kurdiyah told reporters, “I don't know what to say. I'm free... finally, after a full year,” according to Amad Update, and “I don't know what to say. I'm free at last, after a full year,” according to Al Jazeera net.
The legal case was not described as ending with the release, because Amad Update and Al Jazeera net both said “The immigration case against her will continue.”
Detention Timeline and Allegations
The sources described Kordia’s detention as beginning after U.S. police arrested her at Columbia University in 2024 during protests in support of Palestinians against Israel’s war on Gaza, and they said immigration authorities later detained her in 2025 for overstaying a student visa. Mondoweiss said ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed a student visa expiration as the reason for her arrest, and it added that DHS lawyers alleged she was “potentially tied to terrorism through bank transfers.” Amad Update stated that “Immigration authorities say they detained her in 2025 for overstaying her student visa,” while also saying “her attorney said she was in the process of obtaining legal status.”
Multiple reports also described the procedural path to bail: Mondoweiss said her “third hearing set her bail at $100,000 and facilitated her subsequent release,” while Al Jazeera net said “This was the third hearing to consider her bail-release request, after two previous government orders to automatically release her had been suspended by the government.” The legal dispute over the government’s case was described in sharply different terms by the sources, with Mondoweiss saying the terrorism allegation was “proven false” when “her lawyers presented substantial evidence identifying payments as remittances to family members who had no ties to terrorism.”
Amad Update and Al Jazeera net both reported that the judge rejected the government’s arguments, with Amad Update stating the judge said the government’s arguments were “deceptive.” Health deterioration during detention also appeared in several accounts, including Amad Update’s statement that she was “briefly hospitalized last month after suffering a seizure during detention,” and Al Jazeera net’s report that she “briefly spent a short period in the hospital last month after suffering a seizure while in detention.”
Voices at Release and Support
The release was accompanied by statements and quotes from activists, legal representatives, and public figures, with several sources describing how supporters met Kordia and how she spoke about her experience.
Mondoweiss said “Notable supporters like Zohran Mamdani lauded her release,” and it also named organizations including “the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).”
It further reported that “Mahmoud Khalil” met with Kordia and joined her at a press conference at “Paterson City Hall alongside his wife and fellow activist Dr. Noor Abdalla.”
In that same account, Kordia described the emotional and practical meaning of freedom in an interview, saying, “It’s been catching up with family, spending time with friends, alongside telling the story,” and she added, “I would like to say telling the story, not advocacy – just simply telling my story.”
Amad Update and Al Jazeera net both included Kordia’s on-camera reaction, with Amad Update quoting her: “I don\'t know what to say. I\'m free... finally, after a full year,” and Al Jazeera net quoting: “I don't know what to say. I'm free at last, after a full year.”
Legal and advocacy voices also framed the release as part of a continuing fight, with Al-Quds Al-Arabi quoting attorney Sara Sherman-Stoхes saying, “We are happy and relieved that Leqaa can finally return to her family in New Jersey after a long year in detention.”
The same Al-Quds Al-Arabi report included a statement from attorney Amal Tabta saying, “Leqaa should not have spent any moment in ICE detention, let alone a full year.”
Different Frames of the Same Case
While all the accounts described Kordia’s release on bail and the continuing immigration case, they diverged in how they characterized the underlying dispute and the broader political context. Mondoweiss emphasized the legal allegations and their rebuttal, saying DHS lawyers alleged she was “potentially tied to terrorism through bank transfers,” and it asserted that the claim was “proven false” when “her lawyers presented substantial evidence identifying payments as remittances to family members who had no ties to terrorism.” Amad Update and Al Jazeera net framed the detention as part of a crackdown by President Donald Trump’s administration against anti-war protests, with Amad Update saying the arrest came “as part of the crackdown waged by President Donald Trump’s administration against anti-war protests against Israel's war on Gaza.”
Al Jazeera net similarly described a crackdown that targeted protesters and said Trump launched a campaign by “attempting to deport foreign protesters and threatening to freeze funding for universities,” while arguing the protests are “anti-Semitic.” Al-Quds Al-Arabi presented the release as a step that still left policy conflict unresolved, quoting attorney Sara Sherman-Stoхes that it was “an important step in restoring Leqaa’s rights, which are still unlawfully targeted because of her advocacy for Palestinian rights,” and it quoted attorney Amal Tabta saying, “Leqaa should not have spent any moment in ICE detention, let alone a full year.”
Oz Arab Media’s account, citing Al Jazeera, focused on the judge’s assessment of evidence, stating that “Judge Tara Nazlo acknowledged that there was no substantial evidence from the government against Kordia, which ultimately led to her release.” Even the detention facility naming varied across sources, with Mondoweiss referring to “Prairieland Detention Center in North Texas,” while Amad Update and Al Jazeera net described “Pearland Detention Center in the city of Alvarado, Texas,” and the القدس | West Asian report used “Beriland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.”
What Comes Next
The sources portrayed the release as both a personal turning point and a continuation of legal and political pressure, with multiple accounts describing ongoing immigration proceedings and continued detention of others. Amad Update said, “The immigration case against her will continue,” and it added that the case involved a third bail hearing after two previous release orders were suspended, with the judge saying the government’s arguments were “deceptive.” Al-Quds Al-Arabi similarly described that the legal battle was “not over yet,” and it quoted attorney Sara Sherman-Stoхes saying, “We will continue this fight in federal courts and in immigration cases as long as necessary, not only for Leqaa, but for the freedom of everyone who faces unjust retaliation simply for speaking out against genocidal crimes.”
The same report included a warning from attorney Amal Tabta that “Leqaa should not have spent any moment in ICE detention, let alone a full year,” and it quoted Kordia’s legal team emphasizing that the release was “only the beginning,” with the report stating, “Although today marks a powerful and emotional milestone, we recognize that this is only the beginning.” Several sources also tied the case to the broader detention system, with Al-Quds Al-Arabi stating that “ICE continues to detain large numbers of migrants, with detainee numbers reaching around 70,000 last month.”
Humanitarian impact was also foregrounded, with Amnesty International figures appearing across accounts, including Amad Update’s statement that “Amnesty International says Kurdiyah has lost 175 members of her family in the Israeli war on Gaza since late 2023,” and Al Jazeera net’s statement that “Amnesty International said Kurdiyah had lost 175 family members in the Israeli war on Gaza since late 2023.” Even as she left detention, Kordia’s own stated focus in Mondoweiss was on telling stories of other detained women, saying she wanted “telling the story, not advocacy – just simply telling my story and the story of the ladies who were detained with me.”