Federal officials confirmed that a Palestinian woman held in U.S. immigration custody was admitted to a hospital after suffering a seizure, renewing attention on conditions inside immigration detention facilities and on the governments handling of detainee medical needs.
On February 6, 2026, at about 8:45 p.m., medical staff at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement that detainee Leqaa Kordia had been transferred to Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Burleson for additional evaluation following a seizure, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said.
Kordia, 33, is a Muslim Palestinian woman who has been living in the United States and whose mother holds U.S. citizenship. She was detained by immigration authorities in early 2025 during a scheduled meeting with officials at the Newark Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office; at that meeting she was accompanied by her attorney. At the time of her detention she was in the process of securing legal residency.
Her family and legal representatives issued a statement over the weekend, cited by media outlets, saying they have not received communication from U.S. authorities about her medical condition. The family could not be reached immediately for comment, according to officials.
The Homeland Security Department said that ICE will ensure she receives proper medical care while in custody. The department also provided additional context about Kordias case, saying she was raised in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was arrested on immigration violations tied to overstaying an expired student visa.
DHS further stated that Kordia was arrested by local authorities in 2024 in connection with pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University, actions the department characterized as supportive of Hamas. Kordia and other protesters, including some Jewish groups, contest that characterization, saying the government wrongly equates criticism of Israels military campaign in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism and equates advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
Kordia has told advocates that she was targeted for her pro-Palestinian activism and has described conditions in the detention facility as "filthy, overcrowded and inhumane." Rights organizations have for years reported detainee complaints about conditions in ICE facilities and have called those conditions inhumane. Federal authorities have denied treating detainees inhumanely.
The human toll reported by advocacy groups has also been highlighted in the case. Amnesty International has stated that 175 members of Kordias family have been killed during Israels assault on Gaza since late 2023, which followed an attack by the militant group Hamas.
The episode sits at the intersection of immigration enforcement, protest politics on university campuses, detainee health and civil liberties. The Trump administrations response to pro-Palestinian protests included measures such as threats to freeze federal funding to universities where demonstrations took place and efforts to deport foreign protesters. Those actions encountered legal challenges, and rights advocates have argued that the crackdown undermines free speech and due process.
For now, the immediate focus remains on Kordias medical status and on whether family members and legal counsel will receive fuller information from authorities about her condition and care. DHS has said ICE will oversee her medical treatment while she remains in custody.