A Columbia University student was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents Thursday morning. In an email sent to members of the Columbia community, acting university president Claire Shipman said federal agents were able to get into a residential building on campus after falsely representing their reason for entry.
“Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person,’” Shipman wrote. In her note, Shipman emphasized that law enforcement requires a “judicial warrant or judicial subpoena” in order to access nonpublic areas of the university. “An administrative warrant is not sufficient,” she noted.
The detained student has been identified as Ellie Aghayeva. According to the New York Times, she is a senior majoring in neuroscience and political science. Aghayeva is an international student and was reportedly detained at her Columbia-owned apartment. Columbia’s student newspaper, The Daily Spectator, reported Aghayeva had posted an Instagram Story on Thursday morning that read, “Dhs illegally arrested me. Please help.”
In a joint statement, City Council Speaker Julie Menin and majority leader Shaun Abreu, both Columbia alumni, condemned what they called the “disturbing incident.” “ICE has no place in our schools and universities. These activities do not make our city or country safer, but rather drive mistrust and danger,” they said.
Governor Kathy Hochul also came out against Aghayeva’s detainment. “I want to know if they had a warrant. What the conditions of that arrest were,” she told CBS News. “We’re still looking for more information, but to misrepresent who they are, I’ve said they’re out of control.” Later, in a post on X, Hochul said, “Let’s be clear about what happened: ICE agents didn’t have the proper warrant, so they lied to gain access to a student’s private residence.”
On Thursday afternoon, DHS confirmed that Aghayeva was arrested by ICE officers. “ICE arrested Elmina Aghayeva, an illegal alien from Azerbaijan, whose student visa was terminated in 2016 under the Obama administration for failing to attend classes,” the agency said in a statement sent to The Cut. “The building manager and her roommate let officers into the apartment. She has no pending appeals or applications with DHS.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani had a meeting with President Trump on Thursday and shared on X that he had brought up Aghayeva’s arrest. Mamdani said he received a phone call from the president after their meeting, during which Trump informed him that Aghayeva would be “released imminently.”
Aghayeva’s detainment comes almost a year after the arrest of Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil, the pro-Palestinian activist who was also taken by federal agents from his apartment building, sparking a monthslong battle for his release. Khalil was finally freed last June, but in September an immigration judge ordered him to be deported.
This post has been updated.