US EditionColumbia student detained by DHS agents who made "misrepresentations" to enter building, university president says
Federal agents used a false missing person search to enter Columbia housing and detain a student without a judicial warrant, university officials said.
- On Feb. 26, 2026, Claire Shipman, Acting President of Columbia University, said DHS agents detained a student after misrepresenting themselves to enter university housing at 6:30 a.m.
- Columbia University policy requires a judicial warrant or judicial subpoena to access non-public areas, and administrative warrants are not sufficient to enter university buildings.
- Columbia identified the student as Ellie Aghayeva, a senior from Azerbaijan studying neuroscience and political science who arrived around 2016; it is contacting Aghayeva's family and providing legal support while noting her social media following exceeds 100,000.
- An emergency rally was scheduled for 12 p.m. Thursday as Julie Menin said Menin, 'These activities do not make our city or country safer, but rather drive mistrust and danger.'
- The arrest echoes last year's Mahmoud Khalil detention at Columbia, which drew national attention, while federal immigration enforcement tactics using disguises have increased in recent months.
153 Articles
153 Articles
By Emma Tucker and Alaa Elassar, CNN. Ellie Aghayeva had documented a 10-hour intensive study session in the Columbia University library on Wednesday night, sharing on her sizable social media following how she prepares for an exam and conducts research. What she didn't know at the time was that the next day she would spend roughly the same amount of time in a federal immigration detention center. Aghayeva, a senior at the university, was detain…
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DHS Raid at Columbia University: A Controversial Detention
A dawn operation at one of America's leading Ivy League campuses has ignited fresh debate over the reach of federal immigration enforcement, after Homeland Security officers entered a university‑owned residence on 26 February to detain an international student. What began as a quiet apprehension quickly spilled into public view when the student documented her detention on social media. Ellie Aghayeva, a senior neuroscience researcher at Columbia…
Mamdani says Trump agreed to immediately release Columbia student detained by ICE
A Columbia University student was arrested Thursday by federal immigration agents who claimed to be searching for a “missing person” in order to gain access to a campus apartment, according to her attorneys and the school’s president.
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