Paterson leaders call for release of 33-year-old ICE detainee from New Jersey after seizure
PATERSON, New Jersey (WABC) -- Leaders in Paterson are asking for the release of a local resident being detained by ICE -- a woman who a judge has twice ordered released.
Leqaa Kordia, 33, was taken into custody after she went to an ICE field office on March 13, 2025, for what she thought was a routine interview on her immigration status.
The Department of Homeland Security says she overstayed her student visa and was providing financial support to individuals hostile to the U.S.
Kordia, who is Palestinian, was also arrested in 2024 for participating in a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University.
The charges against her were dismissed and sealed. But information about her arrest was later given to the Trump administration by the New York City police department, which said it was told the records were needed as part of a money laundering investigation.
Last year, Kordia was among the first pro-Palestinian protesters arrested in the Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizens who had criticized Israel's military actions in Gaza. She is the only one who remains jailed.
She has not been accused of a crime and has twice been ordered released on bond by an immigration judge. The government has challenged both rulings, an unusual step in cases that don't involve serious crimes, which triggers a lengthy appeals process.
Last Friday, Kordia suffered a seizure in the ICE detention center in Texas and was rushed to the hospital.
In a letter, Kordia said doctors told her she is more prone to seizures due to poor sleep, inadequate nutrition and stress.
In a statement released through her lawyers on Thursday, Kordia said she was shackled the entire time she was hospitalized and prevented from calling family or meeting with her lawyers.
"Hearts are hurting because one of our own, one of our residents, is not only in custody, but she's in chains, treated like an animal," said Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh. "So this is a humanitarian plea, let her go, let her live."
In a statement, DHS said Kordia was taken to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution to ensure her health and safety."
It says it is monitoring her condition and will ensure "she receives proper medical care."
In her statement on Thursday, Kordia said the detention facility was "built to break people and destroy their health and hope."
"The best medicine for me and everyone else here is our freedom," she added.
Two of her family members joined local leaders and civil rights activists demanding her release because they say a Federal Judge has ordered the government twice now to let her go.
"Everything about Laqaa's case is wrong. Layers of injustice right in our face. Lack of due process, disregard for the First Amendment, disregard for the courts," Executive Director Council on American-Islamic Relations NJ, Selaedin Maksut, said.
They are asking for support for Kordia.
"And so we call on everybody to continue pressuring your representatives to continue calling your members of Congress," one supporter said.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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