1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

Leqaa Kordia is a 33yo Palestinian woman with family here and in Gaza. But this isn't about Palestine or Israel, it’s about freedom of speech. And a regime targeting those who defy them. Her mother is a citizen living in New Jersey - where Leqaa was staying and working as a waitress. She came here in 2016 on a student visa and was in the process of seeking permanent residence status via her mother. She participated in peaceful protests advocating for Palestinian humanity - an personal issue in that she has lost nearly 200 relatives in Gaza. In March last year, ICE informed Leqaa they wanted to speak to her. She voluntarily appeared at their office in Newark - where she was arrested, thrown into an unmarked van and sent to Prairieland Detention Facility in Texas 1,500 miles away from her lawyer and family. She has been detained in horrific conditions since then. Leqaa wrote in an op-ed that the ICE facility “is filthy, overcrowded and inhumane.” She slept in a plastic shell “surrounded by cockroaches and only a thin blanket.” And the food is so bad, it has caused her to vomit - resulting in significant weight loss. A few weeks ago she experienced the first seizure of her life, collapsing to the floor. ICE transported her to a hospital where her wrists and legs were shackled to the bed for three days. As she put it, “The entire time I was chained…I felt like an animal.” And ICE refused to tell her lawyers or family where she was or her medical condition. None of this should be happening. Two different immigration judges have ruled that Leqaa should be released on bond. Instead, a little-used procedure has been invoked to keep her detention open-ended. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem smeared Leqaa as being a “terrorist” sympathizer for expressing concern for Palestinians in Gaza. It was even claimed that releasing Leqaa (who has no criminal record) was somehow a threat. Amnesty International lists her on their website with demand that our government “release detained protester.” She's in the same section as dissidents in Russia, Belarus and other authoritarian regimes. So this is how our nation is viewed by human rights organizations. I have emailed Secretary Noem several times, and now I'm calling on you to demand her release.