By Sharon Zhang
This text was initially revealed by Truthout
Kordia mentioned final week she “feels as if she is ‘slowly dying’” in ICE detention, her cousin mentioned.
The household of detained Palestinian Columbia College activist Leqaa Kordia mentioned on Saturday that the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) is withholding data on her whereabouts and well being after she was rushed to the hospital on Friday.
Kordia’s household and authorized staff have mentioned that ICE officers are refusing to offer any details about the place she has been hospitalized, nor are they sharing any specifics of her well being standing or how they’ll guarantee her well being when she is discharged.
In a press launch, the attorneys and relations mentioned they realized that she wanted one other evening’s keep on the hospital, however haven’t even gotten affirmation of the rationale she was hospitalized. They are saying that every one they know is that she reportedly fainted and had a seizure.
“We’re past nervous; we’re all terrified. DHS has refused to inform any of us what hospital she was taken to, not to mention verify whether or not Leqaa is even alive,” her cousin, Hamzah Abushaban, mentioned. “After I noticed her final week, separated by wired glass, she was so sick that she couldn’t even elevate the cellphone to her ear to talk to me. Her situation was visibly alarming. She regarded frail, pale, and exhausted.”
“She advised me she feels as if she is ‘slowly dying in right here,’” Abushaban mentioned.
Kordia is believed to be the final of the pro-Palestine Columbia protesters remaining in immigration detention. She has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention since March 2025, when she went to ICE’s headquarters for what she thought was a routine immigration appointment, however was as an alternative detained and thrown into the Prairieland Detention Heart in Alvarado, Texas.
An immigration choose has ordered Kordia to be launched twice, however the Trump administration has labored to maintain her detained with repeated filings in the Board of Immigration Appeals.
She has described being held in overcrowded cells, pressured to sleep on concrete, and being denied fundamental lodging for her Muslim religion, together with lodging for a hijab or for her to quick throughout Ramadan.
Kordia hails from Ramallah, within the occupied West Financial institution. DHS has brazenly tied her detention to her pro-Palestine activism, however claims that they’re solely holding her for an alleged visa violation, which her authorized staff denies. She would be handed over to Israeli authorities if the U.S. deports her.
“By means of my continued detention, the Trump administration goals to ship a chilling message: Individuals who communicate out for Palestinian rights or criticize Israel will face retribution,” Kordia wrote in an op-ed for USA As we speak final month.
“This blatant disregard of Leqaa’s human rights whereas in custody is appalling. It’s one more instance of the actual hurt attributable to the Trump administration’s relentless assault on rule of legislation and human rights,” mentioned Justin Mazzola, deputy director of analysis for Amnesty Worldwide USA, in a assertion. “The Trump administration should cease enjoying merciless political video games with Leqaa’s life.”
Like different ICE immigration jails, Prairieland Detention Heart is thought for its abusive and inhumane situations. Georgetown College scholar Badar Khan Suri was additionally despatched to Prairieland in March final 12 months after he was doxxed by pro-Israel teams and his visa was revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio for expressing assist for Palestinian rights amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He was launched by a choose’s order after being detained for 2 months.
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