Leqaa Kordia, longest detained pro-Palestine protester, freed from ICE custody Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 15:13 A US immigration judge set her bond at $100,000, despite her not being a flight risk Leqaa Kordia poses for a photo after her release from the Prairieland detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, on 16 March 2026 (Gazamom/X) Off After spending two consecutive Ramadans behind bars, Leqaa Kordia was freed from US immigration detention on Monday, in what her lawyers have described as a "staggering" $100,000 bond. Her legal team said the bond was "nonetheless...paid immediately".  The 33-year-old Palestinian immigrant, whose home is in New Jersey, was released from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, after the Trump administration chose not to challenge what was a third release order by an immigration judge.  It had previously appealed the first and second orders for her release.  "I’m free! I’m free! Finally, after one year," Kordia said as she walked out to a group of waiting supporters, with a Palestinian keffiyeh draped around her shoulders.  “There is a lot of injustice in this place,” she added. “There is a lot of people that shouldn’t be here in the first place.” Kordia's cousin, Hamzah Abushaban, told Middle East Eye on Tuesday that Kordia was in relatively good spirits and already at the mosque for Ramadan prayers by Monday evening.  "It was an extremely emotional day" for me, he said of receiving the call about Kordia's release. Abushaban is based in South Florida. "I had to pull over at a random gas station to process it all, and started crying," he said.  Last month, Kordia had to be hospitalised after fainting, hitting her head, and suffering a seizure. She had never experienced seizures before, her family said. Targeted for Gaza protests: The Palestinian still in US custody Read More » While in hospital for three days, Kordia was chained to