The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian activist who has been detained for nearly a year, was recently rushed to the hospital after suffering a seizure.
A DHS spokesperson said that Kordia had “medical staff at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, notified ICE that detainee Leqaa Kordia was admitted to Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Burleson, Texas, for further evaluation following a seizure” on February 6.
Kordia is the only Columbia University protester who remains in a detention facility. She was arrested in March 2025, after turning up to an immigration appointment, for overstaying her visa.
She says she’s been subjected to inhumane conditions while detained, and denied religious accommodations.
An immigration judge has called for Kordia to be released, but the U.S. government has worked to keep her detained.
An immigration judge has called for Kordia’s release twice. However, it has been repeatedly blocked through a series of procedural and administrative moves.
“The Trump administration has exploited rarely used procedural loopholes to keep me confined, a practice now being challenged in federal district courts across the country, with many finding the practice unconstitutional,” she has explained.
“I came here as a tourist, and I changed my visa to student visa. And later, after about six years, I received kind of bad advice from a friend,” she told Mondoweiss earlier this year. “Not intentionally, of course. But I dropped out of school thinking that I had lawful status in the United States.”
She was discharged after the medical episode and immediately sent back to the detention facility.
Kordia’s lawyers and family members got no details regarding her hospitalization and were blocked from speaking to her for more than 72 hours.
“We are beyond worried; we are all terrified. DHS has refused to tell any of us what hospital she was taken to, let alone confirm whether Leqaa is even alive,” said her cousin, Hamzah Abushaban in a statement. “When I saw her last week, separated by wired glass, she was so ill that she could not even lift the phone to her ear to speak to me. Her condition was visibly alarming. She looked frail, pale, and exhausted.”
“She told me she feels as though she is ‘slowly dying in here,’” he added.
In a statement on her situation, Justin Mazzola, Deputy Director of Research at Amnesty International USA, called for Kordia’s release.
“Leqaa should never have been detained in the first place. She has been arbitrarily detained for over ten months for exercising her rights to free speech and protest. Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are human rights – they cannot be punished or criminalized,” he said. “The Trump administration must stop playing cruel political games with Leqaa’s life. Leqaa Kordia must be immediately released, and there must be accountability for the flagrant violation of her human rights.”
Kordia is from the illegally occupied West Bank, which means that she would be handed over to Israeli authorities if deported. She has lost nearly 200 family members throughout the genocide.
University of Texas lawsuit
A federal court has ruled that key First Amendment and free-speech claims can move forward in a lawsuit launched by student activists at the University of Texas.
Last April, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (along with Muslim Legal Fund of America, attorney Maria Kari, and Lee & Godshall-Bennett LLP) filed the legal action against the school, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Former UT Austin President Jay Hartzell, current Interim President Jim Davis, police officers at the school, and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) over their violent crackdown of a peaceful protest in support of Gaza.
“Arrests being made right now and will continue until the crowd disperses,” tweeted Governor Abbott at the time. “These protesters belong in jail.”
That same month, Abbott condemned the San Marcos City Council over a proposed ceasefire resolution.
“Israel is a stalwart ally of the United States and a friend to Texas,” read a letter that Abbott sent to the city council. “I have repeatedly made clear that Texas will not tolerate antisemitism. Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies. Over a year ago, following Hamas’s cowardly attack and campus disruptions openly celebrating terrorism, I issued an executive order addressing antisemitism in higher education. I have proudly signed legislation prohibiting government entities from supporting efforts to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel. That remains the law here.”
The resolution was ultimately voted down.
“This ruling is an important step toward holding government officials accountable for arresting and punishing students for engaging in protected speech,” said ADC National Legal Director Jenin Younes in a statement. “Our Constitution protects peaceful advocacy, especially on matters of public concern, and the court’s decision makes clear that these claims cannot simply be brushed aside before the evidence is examined. The state and the university targeted only pro-Palestine protestors, which is clearly viewpoint discriminatory and entirely anathema to the First Amendment.”
“When state and university officials respond to student organizing with arrests and punishment, they’re not just targeting a single protest—they’re trying to intimidate a generation into silence,” said ADC National Executive Director Abed Ayoub. “These students showed extraordinary courage in standing against genocide. ADC will stand with them through the next phase of this case to ensure the truth comes out and to help secure accountability so students can speak, assemble, and organize without fear of retaliation.”
Further Reading
- Palestine Legal: “I Will Not Trade Speaking Out for Palestine for My Safety”: We Stand with Professor Mohja Kahf
- JNS: Federal lawsuit challenges Massachusetts city’s divestment ordinance as anti-Israel boycott
- Nebraska Public Media: UNL student senators pass weapons divestment after focus on Israel stripped out
- WRAL News: Judge: UNC must allow protesters to return to campus
- Jerusalem Post: Chicago unanimously adopts IHRA definition, becoming second largest US city to do so
- Al Jazeera: Activists announce new, bigger aid flotilla to set sail for Gaza in March
