After a year in immigration detention, a Muslim Palestinian woman from New Jersey could be released from ICE custody after an immigration judge ordered her release for a third time.
The federal judge on Friday granted Leqaa Kordia a $100,00 bond -- higher than the $20,000 Kordia had previously been granted, prompting the Department of Homeland Security to file an automatic stay to keep her in custody.
The $100,000 bond is expected to be paid immediately unless DHS cancels the payment and invokes the automatic stay a third time, according to a statement released by Kordia's legal team at the Texas Civil Rights Project.
In the statement, Kordia said she was "deeply grateful for all the people who attended today's bond hearing on theone yearmark of my detention.
"All I want is for the government to finally release me now so I can go home to my family," Kordia said. "Until then, I'll continue speaking up for the basic rights and freedom of all people, from Texas to Palestine."
Judge Tara Naselow-Nahas said the previous $20,000 was more than enough – but said she had "her hands tied." She said she hoped the government would agree that $100,000 was enough and "not turn around and issue an automatic stay." She called the government's arguments "disingenuous" and noted the hundreds of documents submitted by Kordia's lawyers.
DHS attorney Stacy Norcross said during Friday's brief hearing that "no amount of bond" would guarantee Kordia's appearance in court.
Kordia was arrested last March for allegedly overstaying her visa. Before that, she had been arrested during a 2024 protest at Columbia University against Israel's war in Gaza. Kordia, 33, lives in New Jersey. She was born in the West Bank and came to the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2016.
She is the last of four Columbia University protestors arrested who remains in custody.
Sarah Sherman-Stokes, Kordia's attorney, said she had reached out to Norcross before the hearing, hoping the department would not issue another automatic stay.
Sherman-Stokes said there was "overwhelming" information to show Kordia will not be a flight risk, including a letter of support from the mayor of Kordia's hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, where she has spent "a third of her life," her attorney said. Numerous U.S. citizen family members also filed affidavits on Kordia's behalf.
"Today, for the third time, the Immigration Judge again found what we all know to be true: Leqaa should be free," Sherman-Stokes said in the statement.
Concerns for Kordia's health has grown in recent weeks after she experienced a seizure last month and was hospitalized for 72 hours.
It is not known whether Kordia has epilepsy.
"What we do know," her attorney Travis Fife told KERA last week, "is that after spending about 11 months sleep deprived, malnourished, in a high stress environment, and ... suffering the daily indignities of immigration detention, that she had the first seizure of her life in a bathroom stall in an immigration detention center 1,500 miles from home."
Kordia's case has gotten national attention. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly demanded her release, posting in a message on X last month that her detainment is "cruel and unnecessary."
In the statement, Kordia's cousin Hamzah Abushaban, who has been advocating for her release, said the past year has been a "devastating emotional rollercoaster." He said he was relieved by the judge's order Friday and hopes it won't be blocked a third time.
"The government must now release Leqaa immediately so she can come home safe to her family."
Priscilla Rice is KERA's communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
Copyright 2026 KERA News