Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman who has been detained in an immigration jail for nearly a year, experienced a seizure after fainting and hitting her head last week. This incident, she attributes to the filthy and inhumane living conditions at the privately operated Prairieland Detention Facility in Texas.
Kordia, 33, was hospitalized for three days following the seizure, her first ever. Upon her return to the detention facility, she reported being shackled throughout her hospital stay and denied contact with her family or lawyers.
“For three days in the emergency room, my hands and legs were weighed down by heavy chains,” Kordia stated. “I felt like an animal. My hands are still marked from the heavy metal.”
Doctors indicated that her seizure could have resulted from poor sleep, inadequate nutrition, and intense stress. Her lawyers had previously raised concerns about Kordia's rapid weight loss of 49 pounds (22 kilograms), which they attributed in part to her being denied meals that adhere to her religious dietary restrictions.
In her statement released through her legal representation, Kordia lamented, I’ve been here for 11 months, and the food is so bad it makes me sick. At Prairieland, your daily life — whether you can have access to the food or medicine you need or even a good night’s sleep — is controlled by the private, for-profit business that runs this facility.”
Despite the conditions she faced, Department of Homeland Security spokespeople claimed Kordia was not being mistreated and was receiving appropriate medical care.
Kordia, a resident of New Jersey who grew up in the West Bank, had faced arrest amid pro-Palestinian protests in 2024. The charges against her have since been dismissed and sealed, yet she remains incarcerated as efforts to appeal her release are ongoing.
Federal authorities charged Kordia with overstaying her visa and scrutinized payments she made to relatives in the Middle East, which she asserted were meant for family members affected by the war. A judge found substantial evidence supporting Kordia’s explanations.
“The best medicine for me and everyone else here is our freedom,” Kordia concluded, emphasizing the morale of those detained.
