"Detained and Deported: The Fight for a Student's Rights in a Time of Turmoil" As the 2024 college protests against the Trump administration's immigration policies reached a fever pitch, a young Palestinian-American student found herself at the center of a national controversy. Leqaa Kordia, a non-citizen student at Columbia University, was among those swept up in the ICE crackdown, taken into detention and separated from her family and friends. In a harrowing interview, Kordia shares her story of survival and resistance, revealing the human cost of the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement efforts. With the country still reeling from the aftermath of these protests, Kordia's experience serves as a powerful reminder of the need for reform and the importance of protecting the rights of immigrant students on American campuses.
In 2024, massive pro-Palestinian protests swept college campuses across the country, including at Columbia University. As the Trump administration intensified its immigration enforcement efforts, several non-citizen student protesters were taken into ICE detention. Leqaa Kordia was one of them and remained detained for more than. Lisa Desjardins spoke with her about her experience.
