Columbia student taken by ICE after agents claimed to be police looking for missing child

The school's acting president said federal agents "misrepresented" themselves to gain entry into the building early Thursday morning. A DHS official refuted any allegations the agents were misleading in order to gain access to the residential building.

A Columbia University student was arrested inside her university housing by Department of Homeland Security agents who got into the building by saying they were police searching for a missing child, according to the university.

Federal agents entered a residential building owned by the school just after 6 a.m. Thursday after "misrepresenting" themselves, said Columbia Acting President Claire Shipman.

"The agents gained entry by stating they were police searching for a missing child. They made their way to the apartment of the student they were targeting with the same story. Our security cameras captured the agents in the hallway showing pictures of the alleged missing child," Shipman said in a statement. "Let me be clear—misrepresenting identity and other facts to gain access to a residential building is a breach of protocol."

DHS confirmed to NBC New York that ICE agents had arrested Elmina Aghayeva, saying she is "an illegal alien from Azerbaijan, whose student visa was terminated in 2016 under the Obama administration for failing to attend classes."

A DHS official said the building manager and Aghayeva's roommate let officers in, and refuted any allegations the agents were misleading in order to gain access to the residential building.

"Homeland Security Investigators verbally identified themselves and visibly wore badges around their necks," the spokesperson said.

A previous statement from a DHS official said the agents "did NOT and would not identify themselves as NYPD."

Around 7:00 a.m., Aghayeva posted a message to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram: “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help." A photo accompanying the post appeared to show the backseat of a vehicle.

Laywers for Aghayeva wrote in a letter she was being held at the federal detention center in lower Manhattan. They declined to provide additional comment, including details about her immigration status.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a post on X he had discussed the arrest during an unrelated meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington. Mamdani said he was later told by the president that Aghayeva would be "released imminently."

Aghayeva arrived back at her Morningside Heights apartment building Thursday afternoon, about nine hours after she had been taken by immigration agents. Moments before arriving, the student posted on Instagram sharing the news of her release, writing "I’m grateful for every one of you" while noting that she was "safe and okay.” 

"I need a little bit of time to process everything," she wrote.

The university said in a statement that they were "relieved and thrilled" Aghayeva had been released.

Shipman said in a letter to the university community that all law enforcement are required to have judicial warrants or subpoenas in order to gain access to areas of the school not open to the public. That includes housing, classrooms and anywhere that needs a campus ID to access.

The letter stipulated that administrative warrants, which have previously been used by federal agents in lieu of judicial warrants during immigration searches, are not sufficient to gain access to university buildings. An administrative warrant is issued by a government agency, while a judicial warrant is issued and signed by a judge.

"All law enforcement agencies—including DHS and ICE—are obligated to follow established legal and ethical standards. And we expect those standards to be respected," Shipman wrote.

Shipman added that anyone who encounters law enforcement agents looking to enter non-public university areas should ask them to wait until the school's Department of Public Safety is contacted.

A witness said he saw the detained student being taken away in handcuffs as someone else recorded the incident. He said Aghayeva did not appear to resist.

"I mean, it was disturbing. The first thing that came to my mind was, it was definitely ICE-related," witness Jason Molina told News 4. "It could not have been like a dispute or whatever because regular PD would have been here, which they weren't."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned the actions by the ICE agents.

"This morning, ICE agents misled campus security and took a young woman from her college dorm without a judicial warrant. No one should disappear at the hands of the government. No student should be taken from their dorm through deception," the governor said in a statement, calling for an independent investigation.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said in a post on social media that ICE "has no place in our schools and universities" and blasted the agency's practices.

"These activities do not make our city or country safer, but rather drive mistrust and danger," said Menin, a Columbia College alumna.

DHS said Aghayeva had no pending appeals or applications with the department. She was placed in removal proceedings and released while she awaits her hearing, the department said.

Aghayeva is a senior from Azerbaijan studying neuroscience and political science. A self-described content creator, she has amassed a large social media following by sharing day-in-the-life videos and tips for navigating college as an immigrant.

In an emergency petition, attorneys for Aghayeva said she had entered the country on a visa in or around 2016. They said she was taken into custody early Thursday by ICE agents who didn't have a warrant but “represented they were searching for a missing person to gain entry" to the university-owned apartment.

The arrest prompted outrage on the college campus, with large protests taking place in the hours after Aghayeva was taken away. In a new statement Thursday evening, Columbia said it would be adding more public safety patrols to residential buildings.

The use of disguises or other misrepresentations by immigration authorities has drawn attention in recent months, after federal agents were seen posing as utility workers and other service employees in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

The practice is legal, in most cases. But immigration attorneys say such ruses are becoming increasingly common, adding to concerns about the Trump administration’s dramatic reshaping of immigration enforcement tactics nationwide.

The incident comes nearly one year after federal agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, then a Columbia graduate student and Palestinian activist, inside his university-owned housing. Khalil is out on bail, fighting his own deportation case.

In the months after his arrest, many students called on the university to do more to secure the campus from federal immigration enforcement.