Ebullient city leaders in Paterson, N.J., welcomed the Palestinian activist Leqaa Kordia back to her adopted hometown on Sunday morning at an event celebrating her release after more than a year in federal immigration detention.
Ms. Kordia, 33, was one of several protesters investigated by federal authorities after being arrested at Columbia University in 2024 during demonstrations over Israel’s war in Gaza that ignited a national debate over free speech and antisemitism. The news conference on Sunday, held at Paterson’s City Hall, was accompanied by a boisterous outdoor rally at which Columbia students and advocates chanted contentious slogans in support of the Palestinian cause.
“It’s been a long year, a tough year in ICE dungeons, but I’m finally free,” Ms. Kordia said, wearing a burgundy suit, a patterned head scarf and a pin that said “Palestine.”
Outside City Hall, Ms. Kordia waved a Palestinian flag and led the crowd in chanting “globalize the intifada,” a slogan alluding to Palestinian rebellions that, along with “from the river to the sea,” has spurred intense debate. Palestinians and their supporters have said the phrases are a rallying cry for liberation, but many Jews consider them a call for violence against Jews and the elimination of Israel.
Controversy over such rhetoric has swirled in particular around Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York, an outspoken pro-Palestinian leader who has made statements in support of Ms. Kordia and pressed President Trump for her release during a meeting at the White House last month. After initially refusing to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” during the mayoral primary, Mr. Mamdani later said he does not use the phrase himself and would discourage its use.
Mr. Mamdani did not attend the event on Sunday, but was briefly praised by Mahmoud Khalil, another Columbia protester who spent three months in ICE detention last year and has become an ally of the mayor. He turned to Ms. Kordia and spoke emotionally.
“I never felt that I was fully free while I knew that you were suffering in the same place where I was,” Mr. Khalil said. “Because I know what it means.”
Representatives of Mr. Mamdani did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In the City Council chambers, Mayor Andre Sayegh, Paterson’s first mayor of Middle Eastern heritage, stood before a large portrait of Malcolm X and spoke of Ms. Kordia’s return to the city, where she lived with her mother before she was detained, as a continuation of its revolutionary history.
“Her freedom today is a joy for all of us,” said the mayor, adding that Ms. Kordia’s release marked “a very proud day for the City of Paterson, and the state of Palestine.”
Paterson has a large Palestinian community; in 2022 the City Council renamed a stretch of Main Street “Palestine Way.”
“Palestinians and Patersonians always overcome obstacles,” Lilisa Mimms, the City Council president, said on Sunday.
When Ms. Kordia spoke, she quickly grew emotional. “I left behind many beautiful, courageous, innocent women and men whose only crime was just dreaming — dreaming of a better life for themselves and for their families,” she said.
Ms. Kordia described “horrible” conditions at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, where she has said she was chained to a hospital bed after suffering her first seizure. The seizure, she said on Sunday, was caused by stress, lack of sleep and meals she called “dog food.” She added that no accommodations were made for her Muslim faith.
During her detention, Ms. Kordia said, she kept in mind Palestinian prisoners in Israel who have it worse.
“I feel ashamed to complain,” she said.
Tricia McLaughlin, then a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, last month defended the conditions at the Texas detention center, saying all detainees had “access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.”
“For many illegal aliens, this is the best health care they receive in their entire lives,” she said.
Sarah Sherman-Stokes, a lawyer for Ms. Kordia, said her ordeal is not over. Ms. Kordia, who is from the West Bank and overstayed her student visa, has not been charged with a crime, but the U.S. government is seeking to deport her.
The Paterson police blocked off streets around City Hall during the event, as many dozens of demonstrators rallied outside, some wearing kaffiyehs. When Ms. Kordia emerged from the building, musicians drummed and sang a traditional song for Palestinian weddings.
“Leqaa today is our bride!” a woman shouted.
Demonstrators shook signs with messages including “Every Fascist State Will Fail,” “Glory to Our Martyrs” and “Stop Bombing Lebanon.” Others led chants condemning the United States for killing “freedom fighters in Iran.”
Before she left City Hall, Ms. Kordia said she intends to spend time with her family and friends and to focus on her activism.
“Now that I’m out,” she said, “I plan to make up for all the lost time.”
Ms. Kordia ended her Council chambers speech with a prayer.
“May Allah free Palestine,” she said, “from the river to the sea.”
David Waldstein and Sally Goldenberg contributed reporting.
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