Congress Must Act Now to Free Leqaa Kordia From ICE’s Texas Hellhole

Leqaa Kordia’s story is a brutal reminder of the cruelty baked into the ICE detention system under this administration. The 33-year-old Palestinian woman from Paterson, New Jersey, has been locked up for 11 months at the Prairieland Detention Facility in Texas, more than 1,500 miles away from her family. Her “crime”? Speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has killed over 200 members of her extended family.

This is not just a case of bureaucratic callousness. It is a flagrant violation of justice and human rights. Twice now, immigration judges have ruled that Leqaa should be released. Yet the Department of Homeland Security refuses to follow the law and keep her detained in a notoriously brutal facility. Prairieland Detention Center is infamous for inhumane conditions and systemic abuses, a place where Kordia herself described the environment as “no freedom, no justice. It’s just an ugly place to be.”

The refusal to release her is part of a broader pattern of ICE’s disregard for due process and human dignity. Leqaa’s ordeal includes being hospitalized after a seizure—during which her family and lawyers were unable to contact her—only to be returned to detention once discharged. This is not just negligence; it is a deliberate denial of basic rights.

Grassroots pressure has moved mountains: over 70,000 letters and hundreds of calls have flooded Congress demanding her release. Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, along with Representative Donald Payne Jr., have taken up the cause, leading a letter urging DHS to comply with the judges’ orders.

But Congress must do more than write letters. It must hold DHS accountable and force immediate action to free Leqaa Kordia. Her case lays bare the cruelty of the immigration detention system and the administration’s willingness to weaponize it against dissenters and vulnerable people.

We cannot stand by as ICE continues to imprison people unlawfully, far from their loved ones, in facilities known for human rights violations. Demand your representatives in Congress act now to free Leqaa Kordia and end this injustice.

Take action today: tell your Senators and Representative to join the call for Leqaa’s immediate release from ICE detention. This is a fight for human dignity, justice, and accountability. We will not be silent.