Columbia Student Arrested by ICE Agents
A Columbia University student was arrested early Thursday by federal immigration agents who allegedly misled campus officials and the student about their purpose, claiming they were searching for a “missing person” to gain access to her residence hall, school officials and attorneys said. “A Columbia University student was arrested early Thursday by federal immigration agents who gained entry to a campus residence by claiming they were searching for a “missing person,” according to her attorneys and the school’s president,” according to WRAL News.
The incident occurred around 6:30 a.m. in a Columbia residence building in Manhattan, when agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entered the restricted area by reportedly saying they were looking for someone who had disappeared. Once inside, they detained the student and transported her to a federal immigration detention facility in Lower Manhattan, according to the university and court filings.
The student, identified by multiple news outlets as Ellie Aghayeva, a senior from Azerbaijan majoring in neuroscience and political science, took to social media shortly after the arrest to plead for help, posting “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help” on her Instagram story. She has a significant online following, where she regularly shares experiences about life as an immigrant student.
Attorneys representing Aghayeva filed an emergency petition on Thursday asserting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents did not have a judicial warrant when they entered her dormitory and executed the arrest. Instead, the petition says agents used the misrepresentation about a missing person to secure entry, a tactic that legal experts say raises serious constitutional and civil-rights concerns.
Columbia University’s acting president, Claire Shipman, issued a statement to students and staff emphasizing that law enforcement must present a judicial warrant or subpoena to access non-public campus areas such as residence halls, classrooms or offices. Shipman said the school is working to contact the student’s family and provide legal support while seeking more information about the incident. “The student who was detained, Ellie Aghayeva, is a senior majoring in neuroscience and political science, according to a statement released by her friends to a faculty organization, the American Association of University Professors,” according to The New York Times.
The university’s policy requiring judicial warrants for campus enforcement actions was instituted to protect the safety and rights of students and faculty. Shipman urged students not to allow law enforcement into restricted areas without proper documentation and to contact campus public safety instead of engaging directly with agents.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and other local officials have criticized the arrest, describing the use of misleading tactics on a university campus as “a dangerous overreach” that threatens civil liberties. At the time of publishing, DHS had not publicly responded to requests for comment on the specifics of the arrest.
This episode comes amid heightened tensions between federal immigration authorities and university communities, especially as debates over enforcement tactics and protections for international students continue to intensify nationwide.
Sources:
The New York Times: Immigration Agents Arrest Student Inside Columbia Building, School Says
WRAL News: Columbia student arrested by ICE agents who claimed to be seeking ‘missing person,’ lawyers say
Featured Image Courtesy of Mike Steele’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Chad Davis’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
