Columbia protester Leqaa Kordia has been detained by ICE for nearly a year and was recently hospitalized due to a seizure. Kordia’s lawyers and family members were not told where she was and were not allowed to speak to her for more than 3 days.
In 2025, students around the world came together to challenge their schools’ complicity in the Gaza genocide. Despite heavy repression, they won major victories, including divestment and commitments to cut ties with Israeli institutions.
The Trump administration’s crackdown on dissent started with its targeting of Palestine protesters. Two years into the Gaza genocide, we are now seeing these attacks expand to all critics, regardless of their connection to Palestine.
In a landmark victory for student activists, the Supreme Court of New York ruled that CUNY must disclose the school’s financial portfolio, specifically contracts with businesses connected to the genocide in Gaza.
Parents of students involved in the movement for justice in Palestine at Occidental College write an open letter to school leadership protesting the harsh punishment given for protesting the school’s complicity in the Gaza genocide.
Mahmoud Khalil is seeking $20 million in damages from the Trump administration, alleging that he was falsely imprisoned. Khalil says he would use the funds to assist others targeted by Trump’s crackdown.
Activists say the City University of New York is escalating its repression against Palestine activism by suspending a student leader and terminating the positions of four faculty members who have been active in protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“The wave of repression that the Trump administration initiated with my detention was intended to silence the movement for Palestinian liberation,” Mahmoud Khalil told a rally outside Columbia shortly after his release. “But they completely failed.”
The Trump administration has imprisoned several students over their activism for Palestine. While many of their names are known to us, one Columbia University student’s story has gone underreported. Her name is Leqaa Kordia, and this is her story.
Student protestors across the country are adapting their strategies to Trump’s crackdown on the pro-Palestine movement, but it’s safe to say the activism is not slowing down.