Detained: A Homecoming
Last week, Leqaa Kordia, a young Palestinian woman from Paterson, New Jersey, walked out of an ICE detention center in Texas. Kordia had been held for over a year. At Radio Diaries, we’ve been following her story. We first recorded with Kordia and her cousin Hamzah Abushaban, while she was in detention. And today, we feature her first interview since her release.
Kordia's Case In 2024, Leqaa Kordia was arrested while protesting outside Columbia University. Protesters were calling for a ceasefire in Gaza where more than 175 of Kordia’s family members have been killed since the conflict began.
Kordia was let go after the protests. But the arrest put her on the government’s radar. They took her into custody and charged her with overstaying her student visa. Her mother is a U.S. citizen and Kordia was in the process of applying for a green card.
While in detention, a judge twice ordered her release, setting bond at $20,000. Both times the government appealed. Kordia’s health began to deteriorate, she experienced her first-ever seizure, and her case was gaining more public attention. Then, on March 13, at her third hearing, the judge set bond at $100,000. This time, the government didn’t appeal and Kordia was free to go home. Kordia recorded the events of that day and shared it with the team at Radio Diaries, in her first interview since her release.
AIRING MARCH 27, 2026
on NPR's All Things Considered
at 5:39 PM EST