Palestinian Protester Blames Texas ICE Jail Conditions for Seizure After Nearly Year in Detention
A Palestinian protester detained for nearly a year in a Texas ICE facility says “inhumane” jail conditions prompted a seizure, according to ABC News. Separately, NPR reports that Israeli settlers killed a 19-year-old Palestinian American, underscoring broader tensions affecting Palestinians both in the region and abroad.
📌 Key Facts
- Leqaa Kordia has been detained at Prairieland Detention Facility in Texas since March 2025 after a routine ICE check‑in, with no criminal charges pending.
- She says she fainted and suffered her first‑ever seizure last week, spent three days shackled in a hospital, and was told by doctors that poor sleep, bad nutrition and stress may have played a role.
- Kordia’s lawyers say she has lost 49 pounds and been denied religiously compliant meals; DHS’s Tricia McLaughlin denies any mistreatment and says she is receiving appropriate care.
- An immigration judge has twice ordered Kordia released on bond, but DHS has appealed both decisions, keeping her in custody, which immigration attorneys call highly unusual for a non‑criminal overstay case tied to protest activity.
- Her original 2024 arrest came at a Columbia University protest; those charges were dismissed and sealed, but NYPD later shared her arrest data with federal officials who then touted her ICE arrest as part of a broader crackdown on pro‑Palestinian noncitizen activists.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 20, 2026
February 13, 2026