Woman ordered released from ICE detention for 3rd time but may remain detained

For a third time and on the anniversary of her arrest, an immigration judge has ordered Leqaa Kordia, 33 — a Palestinian woman arrested during a meeting with immigration officers — released from ICE detention on bond. However, it remains unclear if she will actually be freed.

Kordia was arrested on March 13, 2025, for allegedly overstaying her expired visa, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said terminated on January 26, 2022. Her arrest was one of several targeting pro-Palestinian demonstrators, including Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi.

Previously, Kordia was also arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest outside Columbia University on April 30, 2024. All charges related to that incident were promptly dismissed.

DHS officials have claimed that Kordia provided financial support to people living in countries hostile to the United States. However, Kordia’s attorneys maintain that the payments were sent to relatives displaced by the war in Gaza.

In a statement released by her attorneys on Friday, Kordia said,
“I’m deeply grateful for all the people who attended today’s bond hearing on the one-year mark of my detention. To see so many people during the hearing today made me feel loved and supported, and it made me confident that freedom is near. All I want is for the government to finally release me now so I can go home to my family. Until then, I’ll continue speaking up for the basic rights and freedom of all people, from Texas to Palestine.”

Despite the judge’s order for her release, the government has twice invoked an automatic stay of the bond decision to appeal, prolonging Kordia’s detention. She has now been held longer than any other pro-Palestinian demonstrator targeted by the Trump administration.

During Friday’s hearing in Dallas, Texas, Immigration Judge Tara Naselow-Nahas stated,
“So this is our third bond hearing. I have heard testimony, and I have seen thousands of pages of evidence now presented by the respondent, with very little evidence presented by the government in any of this. I still believe that the respondent poses next to no flight risk.”

Judge Naselow-Nahas set Kordia’s bond at $100,000. After a previous order for her release in August 2025, when bond was set at $20,000, the government argued that amount was insufficient to mitigate flight risk.

In court, Justice Department attorney Anastasia Norcross said, “no amount of bond” would be sufficient to guarantee Kordia’s presence at future proceedings. When asked, Norcross could not confirm whether the government planned to invoke another automatic stay.

Kordia’s attorneys have also raised concerns about her health, stating that continued detention poses serious risks. In February, she suffered a seizure and was hospitalized for three days. Court documents reveal that she was shackled at her wrists and ankles during her hospital stay.

An ABC News request for comment sent to the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately receive a response.
https://abcnews.com/US/palestinian-woman-ordered-released-ice-detention-3rd-time/story?id=131046935

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