CNN: Palestinian protester held in immigration detention for over a year is released
CNN reports that Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman detained by immigration authorities for over a year after she was arrested at a protest at Columbia University, has been released from custody. The Department of Homeland Security says was detained for overstaying her student visa. She "appears to be the last in a wave of students and academics still held by immigration authorities after being involved in protests or advocacy related to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, her lawyers say."
Immigration authorities detained the 33-year-old on March 13, 2025 – less than a week after Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested – and she had been held more than 1,500 miles away from her New Jersey home in Texas.
An immigration judge ordered her release on bond. According to CNN, "[i]t’s the third time a judge has ordered her released. In the previous instances, DHS ordered an automatic stay, keeping her in detention, according to her lawyers."
