Columbia student detained by ICE agents who used ‘misrepresentations’ to gain access to dorm building, university says

ICE agents detained a Columbia University student in a dorm building early Thursday morning, allegedly making “misrepresentations to gain entry to the building,” according to acting Columbia President Claire Shipman.

Shipman wrote in a Feb. 26 message to the school’s community that the university is “working to gather more information, working to reach the family, and providing legal support.” The detention occurred at roughly 6:30 a.m., she wrote.

The acting university president did not provide more information about which residential building the incident took place. A Columbia official declined to provide further comment. Shipman wrote that the university will “update our community as additional information becomes available.”

The agents allegedly purported to be searching for a “missing person” in order to gain access to the building and detain the student, Shipman wrote.

A source familiar with the matter told amNewYork that the agents said they were NYPD officers looking for a missing child. It is illegal under New York State law for anyone, including federal officers, to impersonate an NYPD officer.

Columbia School of General Studies senior Ellie Aghayeva posted on Instagram stories Thursday morning, “Dhs illegally arrested me. Please help.”

General Studies Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch sent a message to students after Shipman’s email “regarding the detainment of our Columbia GS student, Ellie.”

“I want to impress upon our community the seriousness of this matter. The University is working to provide legal support to our student,” Rosen-Metsch wrote in the message. “I understand that this news will be upsetting and unsettling for our community. I want to reiterate that everyone at the Columbia School of General Studies is here to support you and our international community.”

‘Sanctuary campus’: Student detained despite campus protections from federal agents

The University requires all law enforcement officials to have a judicial warrant or a judicial subpoena in order to access non-public areas of the university, including housing, classrooms, and areas that require university swipe access.

Columbia has seven residence halls on its main Morningside Heights campus, but most of its residence halls are located off-campus in the surrounding neighborhood. Residence halls require swipe access to gain entry, and the university’s main gates have been largely closed to non-affiliates since the start of campus protests over the war in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel.

International Columbia students, particularly student protestors, have come under heavy scrutiny by President Donald Trump’s administration. In March 2025, ICE arrested Mahmoud Khalil, who was a graduate student at the time and who helped lead the spring 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment protests. ICE later arrested Mohsen Mahdawi, an undergraduate student at the time and a protest leader.

Both have since been released from custody, though the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, has claimed that Khalil will be rearrested and deported.

A DHS official wrote in a statement to amNewYork that Aghayeva is “an illegal alien from Azerbaijan,” claiming that her “student visa was terminated in 2016 under the Obama administration for failing to attend classes.”

“The building manager and her roommate let officers into the apartment,” the official claimed. “She has no pending appeals or applications with DHS.”

The DHS official rejected the claim that DHS officers said they were NYPD officers while attempting to gain entry to the building.

“The Homeland Security Investigators verbally identified themselves and visibly wore badges around their necks,” the official wrote. “They did NOT and would not identify themselves as NYPD.”

The official did not immediately respond to a question regarding whether the officers were wearing body cameras and whether it had footage that could confirm the account.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was interviewed at Columbia following the incident.Photo by Shea Vance

According to a statement by Aghayeva’s friends and family, sent to the Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors, Aghayeva is in her final semester at the university and is majoring in neuroscience and political science.

“She is an international student on a student visa and has been living in the congressional district for the past three to four years while completing her studies,” the statement reads.

Elected officials condemn detention, call for investigation into alleged impersonation

In a statement posted to X, City Council Speaker Julie Menin (D-Manhattan) and City Council Majority Leader Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan) condemned the incident and said they have been in touch with the University. Both Menin and Abreu are Columbia alumni.

“ICE has no place in our schools and universities,” Menin wrote in a post co-signed by Abreu. “These activities do not make our city or country safer, but rather drive mistrust and danger. As Columbia College alumni, our hearts are with the community there, and we have been in contact with the University to offer our assistance.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul posted a statement to X criticizing the incident and mentioning her proposed legislation that would ban ICE from entering “sensitive locations” such as schools and dorm buildings.

“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,” Hochul wrote.

In a statement to X, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal wrote that the agents “impersonated NYPD with fake badges and a phony missing persons bulletin for a 5 year old girl.”

“They purposefully deceived campus housing/security to gain entry to the student’s apartment,” Hoylman-Sigal wrote. “The level of civil rights violations that took place is staggering.”

Spokespeople for Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As of early Thursday afternoon, Mamdani had still not publicly commented on the incident. He is set to meet with Trump in Washington, D.C., on Thursday afternoon.

Mamdani has been critical of ICE, even calling for the agency’s abolition, and has been supportive of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia.

Hoylman-Sigal and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams joined protesters early Thursday afternoon, condemning the detention and calling for Aghayeva’s release.

Williams also said he had heard that ICE officers impersonated NYPD officers.

“That level of deception is unheard of,” Williams said, calling for a full investigation into whether the officers were impersonating NYPD officers. He called the detention a “kidnapping.”

Hoylman-Sigal called the detention the “most egregious example of ICE overreach that we’ve seen in New York City.”

Students swarm campus, protest ‘illegal’ detention

Over 100 protesters took to the streets in the hours after the statement from Shipman, calling for the abolition of ICE and condemning Aghayeva’s detention.

Protesters held signs reading “ABOLISH ICE!” and “Hands off our students.” The group sang protest songs and chanted, “NYPD, KKK, DHS, they’re all the same.”

Speaking to reporters outside Columbia’s main campus gates, Aghayeva’s friend, Sabah Bari, a student at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, said Aghayeva is “highly motivated” and “extremely intelligent.”

“She is extremely smart, she’s studying neuroscience, she is very funny, she can make anyone laugh,” Bari said.

In her message to the community, Shipman reminded students, faculty, and staff that, in the case law enforcement agents attempt to gain access to a building, they should “ask the agents to wait to enter any non-public areas until contacting Public Safety.”

Barnard College, a women’s college across the street from Columbia and one of Columbia’s four undergraduate schools, messaged its students, faculty, and staff about the incident in a Thursday morning email. The college reiterated identical protocols for Barnard property.

“As a reminder, if a federal agent attempts to present a subpoena or warrant to you, do not accept it,” Barnard Executive Vice President for Strategy and Chief Administrative Officer Kelli Murray wrote in the email. “Instead, immediately direct the agent to the Office of General Counsel.”

Updated at 2:54 p.m. on Feb. 26.