Salaam Alaikum,

In the last few days, we have seen an extraordinary show of repressive, militarized force from the administration.  The violence and showmanship of it all is intended to instill fear and compel silence in our collective communities; the consolidation of authoritarian power depends on obtaining our acquiescence as a people—one way or another. 

We wanted to draw your attention to a less obvious expression of that repressive power, but one whose implications for our safety is equally serious.  Nearly three months ago, Leqaa Kordia—a young Palestinian Muslim woman from New Jersey—was arrested by ICE after voluntarily meeting with DHS agents. She was kidnapped and forcibly transferred more than 1,500 miles away to a detention facility in Texas, where she has remained for nearly 90 days, despite an immigration judge granting her release on bond.  In custody, Ms. Kordia has endured harsh conditions, including the denial of basic religious rights such as access to halal food and the ability to perform daily prayers—violations that have impacted both her health and her dignity.

Last week, on June 5th, just one day before Eid ul-Adha, and the evening after President Trump announced the reinstatement of his notorious travel bans, the Muslim Advocates legal team and our co-counsel appeared in federal court to advocate for Ms. Kordia’s release, hoping she would be reunited with her family in time for the holiday. Sadly, she remains detained.

Ms. Kordia’s ongoing imprisonment follows prolonged surveillance of her and her community by DHS and is part of a broader pattern of government repression of our communities.  It is also inextricably linked to the show of force on display in Los Angeles and cities nationwide.  

The Muslim Advocates team remains committed to the fight for freedom for Leqaa Kordia, Dr. Rasha Alawieh, and so many others known and unknown.  Protecting those at the tip of the spear of oppressive state power is critical to ensuring our collective wellbeing and our chance at building a genuinely inclusive, safe constitutional democracy.  

Until we reach that goal, Muslim Advocates will be there with you. Thank you for being with us.

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PROTESTS IN SUPPORT OF LEQAA KORDIA’S RELEASE

We encourage you to listen to this powerful poem Ms. Kordia wrote from inside the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Texas—insisting that even amidst the injustices she faces in confinement, our attention remains focused on the suffering in Gaza. Having lost nearly a generation of her family to the genocide in Gaza, Ms. Kordia’s words stand as both a testament to her resilience and a call to action for us to keep speaking out.

NO BAN ACT

Muslim Advocates forcefully condemned this administration’s new and expanded travel ban, which went into effect on June 9th. This new ban targets 19 majority Black or Brown countries, eight of which are majority Muslim, and is this administration’s latest white nationalist, anti-immigrant, and anti-dissent attack on our freedoms. Muslim Advocates was co-counsel in the Emami v. Nielsen lawsuit, which successfully secured an injunction for 25,000 people wrongfully denied visas under Trump’s previous “Muslim Ban”. We’re proud to co-lead the No Muslim Ban Ever coalition and to continue this fight with a network of over 200 progressive, faith, immigrant, and civil and human rights groups.