Family of Palestinian Activist Hospitalized After ICE Detention Alleges Withheld Information
The family of Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian activist detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since March 2025, says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is withholding information regarding her whereabouts and medical condition after she was hospitalized Friday.
Kordia’s family and legal team report that ICE officials are refusing to disclose the hospital where she is being treated, or provide any details about her health status or discharge plans. They learned she required another night in the hospital but have not received confirmation of the reason for her hospitalization, only that she reportedly fainted and experienced a seizure.
“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 Hamzah Abushaban, Kordia’s cousin. “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.”
Abushaban added that Kordia had told him she “feels as though she is ‘slowly dying in here.’”
Kordia is believed to be the last of the Columbia University pro-Palestine protesters remaining in immigration detention. She was initially detained after attending what she believed was a routine immigration appointment at ICE headquarters, and was subsequently held at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.
Despite being ordered released twice by an immigration judge, the Trump administration has repeatedly challenged those rulings, filing appeals with the Board of Immigration Appeals in an effort to maintain her detention.
Kordia has described harsh conditions within the detention center, including overcrowded cells, sleeping on concrete floors, and denial of religious accommodations for her Muslim faith, such as a hijab or fasting during Ramadan.
Originally from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Kordia’s detention has been openly linked by DHS to her pro-Palestine activism, though the agency claims she is being held for an alleged visa violation – a claim her legal team disputes. Her family fears she would be handed over to Israeli authorities if deported.
“Through my continued detention, the Trump administration aims to send a chilling message: People who speak out for Palestinian rights or criticize Israel will face retribution,” Kordia wrote in an op-ed published last month.
Amnesty International USA has condemned the lack of transparency surrounding Kordia’s hospitalization, calling it a “blatant disregard of Leqaa’s human rights” and “another example of the real harm caused by the Trump administration’s relentless assault on rule of law and human rights.”
Prairieland Detention Center, like other ICE facilities, has a documented history of abusive and inhumane conditions. Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri was also sent to Prairieland last year after being doxxed by pro-Israel groups and having his visa revoked for expressing support for Palestinian rights. He was later released following a judge’s order after two months of detention.
