Lawmakers Demand Video From ICE Detention At Columbia Dorm

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — A group of elected officials is demanding that Columbia University and the NYPD release all surveillance and body camera footage related to last week’s detention of a Columbia University student, Ellie Aghayeva, by federal immigration agents.

However, a Columbia spokesperson told Patch that, unless there is a lawful subpoena, the university will not be releasing the campus security footage from the incident.

"We are grateful for the engagement and support of our local elected officials and community members. However, in keeping with the University's policy, we do not release CCTV footage without a lawfully issued subpoena."

In Tuesday's letter addressed to Columbia's Acting President Claire Shipman and NYPD's Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the officials argued the footage is necessary to clarify what occurred during the detention of Columbia student Ellie Aghayeva by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement back on Feb. 26.

The letter was signed by Upper West Side Assemblymember Micah Lasher, Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Harlem State Sen. Cordell Cleare, City Council Majority Leader Shaun Abreu and Harlem Assemblymember Jordan Wright.

On the morning of Feb. 26, 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.

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.

The Department of Homeland Security has disputed that account, saying officers verbally identified themselves and displayed badges, according to the letter.

"The University maintains that the misrepresentations made by federal agents to gain entry to the building were unacceptable," a Columbia University spokesperson told Patch.

The Department of Homeland Security told Patch that ICE officials arrested Aghayeva 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 said of Aghayeva.

Lasher said the release of the video would ensure public accountability.

"Release of this footage would help New Yorkers, our educational institutions, and our government agencies be better prepared to counter actions by ICE in the future that rely on ruses and deceptions to deprive our neighbors of their liberty," Lasher said. "It would also inform the broader public debate about ICE, and how it has become a secret police force that should, in my view, be abolished."

Lawmakers also noted that Shipman referenced security footage in a public message to the Columbia community, but that the university has not released it.

They argued that footage from both the university and the NYPD is essential to a full understanding of the incident.

"The release of available footage is essential for the public’s understanding of the recent ICE detainment," Abreu said. "Transparency helps us learn how ICE is operating in our community so that we can better protect our neighbors and have a full accounting of what transpired."

The full letter from the lawmakers was made publicly available here.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.