Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast Leqaa Kordia’s year in detention
Apr 3, 2026
Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian activist detained by ICE after protesting, shares her year in a Texas facility and her aims for freeing detained women. Sarah Sherman-Stokes, a Boston University law professor and attorney for immigrant detainees, provides legal context on transfers, targeting of activists, and ongoing removal proceedings. They discuss detention conditions, allegations against Leqaa, and post-release activism.
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Reuniting With Family Brought Her To The U.S.
- Leqaa Kordia came to the U.S. from the West Bank to reunite with her mother after over 20 years apart.
- She attended a Bergen County career program, worked as a waitress, and helped support her mother and brother in New Jersey.
Distant Transfers Can Be A Legal Strategy
- Sarah Sherman-Stokes says ICE transfers detainees to distant facilities to isolate them from legal help and sympathetic courts.
- Moving Laqaa to Prairieville, Texas aimed to reduce family access and place her in the less-immigrant-friendly Fifth Circuit.
Protesting Columbia To Call For Ceasefire And Family
- Leqaa went to Columbia protests though not a student because she is Palestinian and lost nearly 200 family members in Gaza.
- Her protest goals were ceasefire, lifting the siege, and calling for a free Palestine.