DHS agents use deceit in detaining Columbia University student inside school residence, officials say

Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News on Feb 26, 2026

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NEW YORK — Federal Department of Homeland Security agents made “misrepresentations” to enter a Columbia University residence early Thursday morning to detain a student, university and local elected officials said.

Columbia acting President Claire Shipman said DHS professed to be searching for a missing person. The agency allegedly used a missing persons bulletin for a 5-year-old girl, according to Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

The detained student is Ellie Aghayeva, a senior at Columbia studying neuroscience and political science, she posted on social media. She is from Azerbaijan and came to the United States on a visa in 2016, according court filings under seal obtained by the The City.

“This morning at approximately 6:30 a.m., federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security entered a Columbia Residential building and detained a student,” Shipman wrote in an email to students and faculty.

“Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person,” she added. “We are working to gather more details.”

Shipman said Columbia was working to reach the family and providing legal support.

Hoylman-Sigal wrote on X the missing child bulletin was “phony.”

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

Hoylman-Sigal had initially posted the agents posed as NYPD officers, but later said that claim was not confirmed.

Aghayeva posted to her Instagram story Thursday morning that she was detained by federal agents.

“Dhs illegally arrested me,” wrote the student, who appeared to post from the back of a vehicle. “Please help.”

The Daily News has reached out to DHS for comment.

Columbia became a symbol for President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement on college campuses nearly a year ago when federal agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student and leader in the pro-Palestinian movement, in his university-owned apartment building. Khalil was held in detention for over three months, and the Trump administration has threatened to rearrest him and deport him to Algeria.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin, a Manhattan Democrat, and the local councilman for the district, Shaun Abreau, who are both Columbia alumni, wrote in a joint statement that they were briefed Thursday morning on the incident.

“ICE has no place in our schools and universities,” Menin and Abreau said. “These activities do not make our city or country safer, but rather drive mistrust and danger.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not immediately return a request for comment. The NYPD in a statement said it had no involvement in the federal operation.

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(Tom Tracy contributed to this story.)

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