Leqaa Kordia did not slip quietly out of federal custody. The Palestinian activist, who had become the last person still held after the Trump administration’s 2025 campus crackdown, walked free Monday after more than a year in U.S. immigration detention. Stepping out of the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, she smiled and told reporters, “I'm free! I'm free! Finally, after one year,” after posting a $100,000 bond. Her release closes a chapter that drew national attention and a string of legal battles over the government’s use of immigration powers against campus protesters.
An immigration judge had ordered Kordia released on bond three separate times, and the government challenged the first two orders before finally declining to contest the third, which cleared the way for her release once the bond was posted. At recent hearings the judge said she had reviewed “thousands of pages of evidence” from the respondent and still found the government's record thin. The reporting on the release and the judge’s comments was detailed by WFAE.
Kordia was detained after presenting herself for a March 13, 2025 ICE check-in in New Jersey and was flown to the Prairieland facility south of Dallas, according to reporting that has tracked her case. Her detention was tied in part to her participation in a 2024 demonstration outside Columbia University, and criminal charges from that protest were later dismissed and sealed. Local coverage has followed the family's and lawyers' push for release and the legal filings behind the case, as reported by KERA.
Health Scare and Court Fight
In February, Kordia was hospitalized after fainting and suffering a seizure at the detention center, and relatives and attorneys said communications about her condition were limited while she received care. Lawyers told judges she has a neurological condition that worsened in custody and raises the risk of further seizures, and they cited those medical concerns in petitions for release. The hospitalization and family efforts to locate her were reported by the Dallas Morning News, and Hoodline earlier chronicled the confusion around the transfer in a piece about a mystery hospital trip.
Political Reaction and What's Next
Advocates, state lawmakers and elected officials had publicly pressed for Kordia’s release while her attorneys litigated the case in federal court. After stepping out of custody she said she planned to go home and hug her mother “so hard,” and she also vowed to keep fighting on behalf of others still detained. KERA's reporting has followed those advocacy efforts and the legal filings that kept the case in the public eye, and community pressure helped keep attention focused on her situation.
What This Means Legally
Kordia’s release on bond does not terminate the government's removal efforts. Immigration proceedings and appeals remain active even though some local charges were dismissed and sealed. The Department of Homeland Security told reporters that “the facts of this case have not changed: Leqaa Kordia is in the country illegally after violating the terms of her visa,” and government statements have emphasized enforcement authority while judges have questioned the strength of the government's evidence. Reporting on the department's statement and the court rulings is available from WFAE.
