After a year in immigration detention, a Muslim Palestinian woman from New Jersey could be released from ICE custody after an immigration judge ordered her release for a third time.
The federal judge on Friday granted Leqaa Kordia a $100,00 bond -- higher than the $20,000 Kordia had previously been granted, prompting the Department of Homeland Security to file an automatic stay to keep her in custody.
The $100,000 bond is expected to be paid immediately unless DHS cancels the payment and invokes the automatic stay a third time, according to a statement released by Kordia鈥檚 legal team at the Texas Civil Rights Project.
In the statement, Kordia said she was 鈥渄eeply grateful for all the people who attended today鈥檚 bond hearing on theone yearmark of my detention.
鈥淎ll I want is for the government to finally release me now so I can go home to my family,鈥� Kordia said. 鈥淯ntil then, I鈥檒l continue speaking up for the basic rights and freedom of all people, from Texas to Palestine."
Judge Tara Naselow-Nahas said the previous $20,000 was more than enough 鈥� but said she had 鈥渉er hands tied.鈥� She said she hoped the government would agree that $100,000 was enough and 鈥渘ot turn around and issue an automatic stay.鈥� She called the government鈥檚 arguments 鈥渄isingenuous鈥� and noted the hundreds of documents submitted by Kordia鈥檚 lawyers.
DHS attorney Stacy Norcross said during Friday's brief hearing that 鈥渘o amount of bond鈥� would guarantee Kordia's appearance in court.
Kordia was arrested last March for allegedly overstaying her visa. Before that, she had been arrested during a 2024 protest at Columbia University against Israel鈥檚 war in Gaza. Kordia, 33, lives in New Jersey. She was born in the West Bank and came to the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2016.
She is the last of four Columbia University protestors arrested who remains in custody.
Sarah Sherman-Stokes, Kordia鈥檚 attorney, said she had reached out to Norcross before the hearing, hoping the department would not issue another automatic stay.
Sherman-Stokes said there was 鈥渙verwhelming鈥� information to show Kordia will not be a flight risk, including a letter of support from the mayor of Kordia鈥檚 hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, where she has spent 鈥渁 third of her life,鈥� her attorney said. Numerous U.S. citizen family members also filed affidavits on Kordia鈥檚 behalf.
鈥淭oday, for the third time, the Immigration Judge again found what we all know to be true: Leqaa should be free,鈥� Sherman-Stokes said in the statement.
Concerns for Kordia鈥檚 health has grown in recent weeks after she experienced a seizure last month and was hospitalized for 72 hours.
It is not known whether Kordia has epilepsy.
"What we do know,鈥� her attorney Travis Fife told 四虎影院 last week, 鈥渋s that after spending about 11 months sleep deprived, malnourished, in a high stress environment, and ... suffering the daily indignities of immigration detention, that she had the first seizure of her life in a bathroom stall in an immigration detention center 1,500 miles from home."
Kordia鈥檚 case has gotten national attention. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly demanded her release, posting in a message on X last month that her detainment is 鈥渃ruel and unnecessary.鈥�
In the statement, Kordia鈥檚 cousin Hamzah Abushaban, who has been advocating for her release, said the past year has been a 鈥渄evastating emotional rollercoaster." He said he was relieved by the judge's order Friday and hopes it won鈥檛 be blocked a third time.
鈥淭he government must now release Leqaa immediately so she can come home safe to her family.鈥�
Priscilla Rice is 四虎影院鈥檚 communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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