Federal DHS agents detain Columbia student in campus dorm after making 'misrepresentations'

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 and detained a student, Acting President Claire Shipman said.

“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.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal wrote on X that ICE agents impersonated the 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 said. “The level of civil rights violations that took place is staggering.”

While the student’s identity was not immediately confirmed, Ellie Aghayeva, an undergraduate student at Columbia studying neurobiology and political science and expected to graduate this year, posted to her Instagram story on 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, D-Manhattan, 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 Mamdani did not immediately return a request for comment.