Alvarado, Texas - Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman who has been in US immigration detention for nearly a year, shared a powerful message from ICE custody on International Women's Day.

"On this International Women’s Day, nearly a year after I was first detained by ICE for speaking out for Palestinian freedom, my thoughts are filled with the women who, like me, are living – surviving – in immigration detention," Kordia said in a message published by Zeteo on Sunday.

"DHS insists they are targeting criminals. But all I see here are mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers. Some have active green cards. Nevertheless, they are transferred from detention center to detention center. It is human trafficking, by another name."

Kordia has been locked up in the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas – over 1,500 away from her home in Paterson, New Jersey – since March 2025. She was detained after being arrested in a 2024 protest near Columbia University against Israel's US-backed atrocities in Gaza, though the charges were later dropped.

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Kordia was taken into ICE custody after she voluntarily attended what she thought was a routine immigration meeting at the agency's headquarters in Newark. She was in the process of obtaining US permanent residency at the time.

Since then, a federal immigration judge has twice approved Kordia's release on bond, while the Trump administration has appealed the ruling.

Kordia's health is reportedly suffering as her detention drags on. Last month, she was hospitalized for 72 hours after a seizure, before being returned to ICE custody.

Kordia is suffering in ICE detention as nearly 200 members of her family have been killed by Israel in Gaza, with full US support.

"The struggle of the Palestinian woman is never-ending. There is no way to measure the grief," she said.

"Throughout history, women have been taught to stay quiet and shrink our power. The longer they hold me, the more I am reminded how important my story is. Our voices must matter. Why else would they be so afraid of what we have to say?"

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Kordia credited her friendships with fellow women in the Prairieland Detention Center with helping her to survive her nightmare experience.

"We laugh together. We cry together. When somebody is crying, everybody is crying. When somebody is laughing, everybody is laughing. We try to do anything to make anybody happy. If someone is having a problem, we solve it together. We explain paperwork to each other. Many women here can’t afford lawyers," she said, adding, "We have each other. We only have each other."

Kordia urged people to remember those in ICE detention on International Women's Day.

"Today, if you want to honor the strength and resilience of women, remember those of us locked behind these walls. Listen to our words. Demand accountability," she insisted.

"We are still here. No matter how hard they fight to erase or silence us, we will not be forgotten."

A Chuffed.org fundraiser to support Kordia during her ongoing detention has raised more than $91,000 to date.