Columbia Student Released After ICE Arrest: New Details

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — A Columbia University student has been released after she was detained by federal immigration officials claiming to be searching for a missing child on campus Thursday morning, Columbia University's Acting President, Claire Shipman, said.

"Just got off the phone with President Trump," Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Thursday afternoon. "In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning. He has just informed me that she will be released imminently."

Shipman said that five federal agents "made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building" and claimed to be searching for a missing child when they entered an off-campus Columbia residential building around 6 a.m. Thursday.

Once inside the apartment, a campus public safety officer arrived, who asked multiple times for a warrant, which was not produced. Then, the agents took the student, Shipman said.

"We are all so relieved that our student, Ellie Aghayeva, has been released from federal custody," she said in a Thursday evening statement to the community.

"This was a frightening and fast-moving situation and utterly unacceptable for our students and staff. We started work immediately to gain her release. We are so grateful for the help and support we got from the mayor and the governor."

The Department of Homeland Security told Patch over email that the student arrested is from Azerbaijan and was in the United States without an active student visa.

According to a statement from the department, ICE officials arrested her because her "student visa was terminated in 2016 under the Obama administration for failing to attend classes," and both the building manager and her roommate let officers into her apartment.

"She has no pending appeals or applications with DHS," the department stated.

The Department of Homeland Security did not confirm or deny whether the ICE agents lied to get access to the student.

Since Thursday morning, Shipman said additional Columbia Public Safety patrols are being deployed to residential buildings, and all Columbia residential staff have been provided with reminders regarding the University’s protocol for handling interactions with all law enforcement.

"We’ve added the following clarification: For non-emergency situations, residential staff will not allow any law enforcement entry into our buildings without Columbia Public Safety present and guidance from the Office of the General Counsel," Shipman said.

In a joint statement, Congressman Jerry Nadler and Upper West Side Assemblymember Micah Lasher condemned the arrest.

"We are disgusted and outraged that ICE agents entered a Columbia University residential building under false pretenses and without a judicial warrant to detain a student," the statement reads. "ICE is terrorizing our neighbors and ripping students from their homes. We are doing everything in our power to help bring the student home."

This is a developing story and will be updated. For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.