Federal immigration officials on Friday canceled a North Texas Democratic lawmaker’s scheduled visit with a Palestinian woman who has been detained for more than 10 months, citing concerns about a protest outside the facility.
State Rep. Salman Bhojani, D-Euless, said he was not given a specific explanation why his previously approved meeting with Leqaa Kordia was canceled at the Prairieland Detention Center, about 35 miles southwest of downtown Dallas
Immigration officers arrested her last March and she has been detained for more than 10 months, making her the last remaining protester from April 2024 Columbia University demonstrations in ICE custody.
“That’s the problem right? The lack of transparency,” Bhojani said in a news conference outside the facility. “The government should be more transparent to us and say, ‘Yes, this is why we’re doing it.’”
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A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement later said all visits at Prairieland were called off due to “anticipated volatility” linked to demonstrations expected near the site.
“When protesters and agitators gather at the entrance to detention centers, they disrupt scheduled family and legal visits, impacting the ability of loved ones and legal representatives to meet with detained aliens,” the spokesperson said.
Last year, a group of protesters attacked the Prairieland Detention Center, and an Alvarado police officer was shot and injured. At least 16 people have been charged in connection with the attack.
Protestors gather outside of the Earle Cabell Federal Building as a court hearing for the release of Leqaa Kordia, a Columbia student detained at Prairieland Detention Center, happens inside in Dallas on Thursday, June 5, 2025. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford didn’t immediately offer a ruling Thursday. Instead, she said she will be making recommendations regarding the preliminary injunction request to District Judge Sam Lindsey.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
There were a few scattered protesters near the facility on Friday as a group of Democratic lawmakers met with reporters in a public space near the detention center.
Kordia’s case has drawn growing attention as immigration arrests under the Trump administration have stirred backlash nationwide, including in Minneapolis. Kordia turned 33 while at Prairieland.
Earlier this week, Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, visited a South Texas detention center where a 5-year-old boy taken into custody in Minneapolis is being held.
Kordia’s cousin, Hamzah Abushaban, flew in from Florida for the canceled visit. visit. She has received few visitors during her time in detention and has no close family in Texas. Her mother remains in Gaza.
“She has no one in Texas,” Abushaban said.
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Kordia has filed a federal lawsuit challenging her detention, alleging “miserable conditions” at the Prairieland Detention Center. In June 2025, a federal magistrate judge recommended her release while the case proceeds, but a federal district judge ordered additional fact-finding.
A federal immigration judge also has twice approved her release on bond, a ruling the government has appealed, keeping her in custody.
Other students arrested over pro-Palestinian protests nationwide have since been released, deported or left the country voluntarily.