wx2026-0403 POSTSHOW Leqaa-Kordia.mxf-podcast

In this powerful post-show conversation on Democracy Now!, host Amy Goodman speaks with Laka Kordia, a Palestinian activist recently released after more than a year in ICE detention at the Prairieland facility in Texas. Kordia, who grew up in the occupied West Bank and now lives in New Jersey, was arrested in March 2025 during a routine immigration check-in, becoming the last person detained under the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists. She recounts the inhumane conditions of her imprisonment—including severe malnutrition, contaminated water, and being chained to a bed after a seizure—drawing painful parallels to her childhood experiences under Israeli military occupation. Despite multiple judge-ordered releases, the government appealed each decision, citing her advocacy for a ceasefire and Palestinian freedom as 'dangerous' speech. Kordia reflects on the overwhelming support she received from communities across the U.S., especially the Muslim community in Dallas, which helped sustain her during isolation. She shares stories of other detainees, including Noor Salman, a long-term U.S. green card holder from Iraq, and an elderly Palestinian woman who simply wishes to die among her family. The episode closes with a moving letter from fellow detainee Mahmoud Khalil, affirming their shared struggle and the enduring power of Palestinian resistance through presence and persistence.