NJ Woman Held By ICE For A Year, Despite Judges’ Release Orders

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — It has been one full year since Paterson resident Leqaa Kordia was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and despite two judges ordering her release, she remains jailed.

Kordia, a 33-year-old Muslim Palestinian, was arrested by ICE on March 13, 2025, despite not being convicted of a crime. After spending time in ICE custody in New Jersey, she was eventually transferred to Prairieland Detention Center in Texas, where she’s been sleeping on concrete floors for months.

At Prairieland, Kordia has been subjected to “overcrowded, inhumane conditions,” has been denied religious accommodations, and has suffered from deteriorating mental and physical health, according to advocates.

During her incarceration, two judges ordered that she be released. However, after both rulings, ICE officials immediately asked the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to allow for a “discretionary stay,” keeping her confined until the appeals are finalized.

Her confinement has led to outrage from civil rights groups and lawmakers in both Texas and New Jersey. Leading the fight to release Kordia is Nobel Prize-winning civil rights advocacy group Amnesty International USA.

“Leqaa should never have been detained in the first place, let alone for an entire year,” said Justin Mazzola, Deputy Director of Research at Amnesty International. “In targeting Leqaa, the Trump administration is sending a chilling message to us all: opposition and dissent will not be tolerated.”

Kordia’s cousin, Hamzah Abushaban, calls her year-long incarceration “unthinkable.”

“It is unthinkable that the Trump administration would use this mourning of lost family to justify detaining Leqaa, stripping her rights away, and taking her from our family for an entire year,” he said. “Congress must step up and demand ICE stop playing cruel games with Leqaa’s life. Lawmakers must call Leqaa’s detention what it clearly is – unjust, unlawful, and politically motivated. It is the responsibility of Congress to advocate for our rights and demand accountability when those rights are violated.

“While in custody, Leqaa continues to assert her resilience, agency, and right to life,” Abushaban added. “Her voice must be heard, and her needs must be met. Leqaa must be released immediately. We are ready to welcome her home.”

Kordia appeared in her third bond hearing on Friday, in which a judge granted a $100,000 bond. The Department of Homeland Security has until Monday to appeal or invoke another automatic stay.

"Today, an immigration judge ruled that Leqaa Kordia should be released - marking the THIRD time she has been granted bond," Mazzola said. "The Department of Homeland Security must respect the judge’s ruling and release Leqaa immediately. No more excuses – bring Leqaa home."

Background

Kordia came to the United States in 2016 on a B-2 tourist visa, later getting a F-1 student visa to enroll in English classes. She soon began the lengthy process of gaining her Lawful Permanent Residence status.

Later, Kordia was unintentionally misled by a “trusted teacher and mentor” who told her that beginning the lawful permanent residency process meant that she had gained legal status, which is not the case.

In 2022, she withdrew from the English classes, thereby forfeiting her F-1 student visa and, unknowingly, her status as a legal immigrant.

According to New Jersey lawmakers, a 2024 incident during a Gaza Ceasefire protest outside New York’s Columbia University is what put Kordia on the Department of Homeland Security’s map. The NYPD arrested Kordia as they were trying to disperse the crowd, and she was released a day later, with all charges dropped.

It was less than a year later, on March 13, when the DHS told Kordia that there was an issue with her immigration status and she’d need to come to the Newark office to handle it. She complied and was arrested by agents.

Six New Jersey lawmakers, including Andy Kim and Cory Booker, along with 34 Texas legislators, have signed letters to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem requesting Kordia’s release. Noem has since been dismissed from her position.

“Since being detained in March 2025, Ms. Kordia attested to horrific conditions of her detention, including severe overcrowding that has forced her to sleep on a concrete floor, among roaches and other bugs,” the NJ letter reads. “Rather than subjecting her to these horrific conditions, ICE should reserve detention for people who pose threats to public safety or national security and should immediately release Ms. Kordia so that she can seek relief from removal from her home in New Jersey.”

Paterson officials have also stepped in, passing a resolution that calls for Kordia's immediate release. The resolution, sponsored by councilmen Luis Velez and Ibrahim Omar, was passed in December 2025.

Amnesty International USA has created an open letter for anyone to sign, directed at Noem, demanding the release of Kordia.

See the default letter, which can be edited by the signer, below:

To Secretary Noem:
cc: my members of Congress

I am writing to you as a supporter of human rights on behalf of Amnesty International about Leqaa Kordia. On March 13, 2025, Ms. Kordia, a 33-year-old Muslim Palestinian woman, voluntarily met with Department of Homeland Security agents after she learned she was being investigated by immigration authorities. She was immediately detained and transferred from New Jersey to Prairieland Detention Facility in Texas, far from her family and immigration attorney.

Ms. Kordia was in the process of obtaining legal permanent residency in the USA. She came to the attention of immigration authorities after her arrest at a protest in 2024 outside of Columbia University against Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. The charges were later dismissed in the interests of justice.

Ms. Kordia’s arrest and ongoing arbitrary detention are a part of the continued attacks on human rights by the Trump administration. Targeting peaceful protesters and threatening their immigration status for the content of their protest, such as advocating for the human rights of Palestinians, is a violation of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. This targeting sends a chilling message to people across the country that anyone exercising their human rights will be subject to repression, detention, and possible deportation. For immigrant communities already living in fear throughout the U.S., they are now only further pushed into the shadows with fear that they could be deported for speaking out.

Leqaa Kordia has suffered violations of her rights to practice her religion while detained in Texas. She poses no threat to the public or flight risk and is a caregiver for family members in New Jersey. She should be released immediately to her family.