New Jersey resident Leqaa Kordia has finally been released from immigration detention after more than a full year in confinement in Texas. She can now return home as she continues to fight the government’s deportation case against her. Leqaa was targeted for selective immigration enforcement in March 2025, nearly a year after her participation in a protest at Columbia University in April 2024, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, where nearly 200 of Leqaa’s relatives have been killed.
On Friday, March 13, an immigration judge ruled for the third time in favor of releasing Leqaa on bail. The previous two times, DHS exploited legal loopholes to defy the judges’ orders and keep her in detention. Conditions in jail continued to deteriorate to the detriment of Leqaa’s mental and physical health, culminating in a seizure that led to her hospitalization earlier this month.
Defending Rights & Dissent’s Nathan Fuller reacted to the news:
“We are thrilled at the news of Leqaa Kordia’s long overdue release. It’s shameful that it took three legal rulings to end her abusive confinement, which was clearly a punishment for Leqaa speaking out for Palestine. We’ll continue to advocate for Leqaa until the government drops its full case against her.”
Fuller moderated a panel discussion last week with Leqaa’s cousin, Hamzah Abushaban, and members of her legal team with Muslim Advocates, Texas Civil Rights Project, and the Boston University’s Immigration Rights Clinic.
Defending Rights & Dissent led a coalition of 21 civil society groups, including Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and others, in writing to the DHS and calling for Leqaa’s immediate release.