Columbia University student detained by DHS agents inside school residence to be released, mayor says

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

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NEW YORK — New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the Trump administration on Thursday afternoon was set to release a Columbia University student detained earlier in the day by federal Department of Homeland Security agents, who Columbia acting President Claire Shipman alleged made “misrepresentations” to enter a school residence.

In the morning, Shipman wrote to students and faculty that DHS professed to be searching for a missing person. The agency allegedly used a missing persons bulletin for a 5-year-old girl to gain entrance to the building, according to Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

The detained student is Ellie Aghayeva, a senior at Columbia studying neuroscience and political science, according to officials and her social media. She is from Azerbaijan and came to the United States on a student visa, which the Trump administration said lapsed years ago when she failed to attend her classes.

“Just got off the phone with President Trump,” Mamdani wrote on X. “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.”

Aghayeva’s lawyers had previously filed a habeas petition in Manhattan federal court objecting to her detention, which remained under seal.

“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 said in the morning, adding that Columbia was providing legal support.

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

Early in the morning, Aghayeva posted to her story on Instagram, where she makes viral videos about her life as a Columbia student, that she was detained by federal agents.

“Dhs illegally arrested me,” wrote the student, who appeared to be posting from the back of a vehicle. “Please help.” Aghayeva was first identified by the student newspaper, Columbia Spectator.

Hoylman-Sigal wrote on X the missing child bulletin agents had with them was “phony.” The borough president at first alleged the agents impersonated NYPD officers, but later said that claim was not confirmed.

“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.”

The NYPD in a statement said it was not involved in the federal operation.

Responding to an inquiry from the Daily News, DHS did not directly address claims of misrepresentations, but said Aghayeva’s building manager and her roommate let officers into the apartment, and she had no pending appeals or applications with the agency.

Not all New Yorkers were buying it: “ICE agents misled campus security,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “New York will not look the other way.”

Columbia became a symbol for the 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 administration has threatened to rearrest him and deport him to Algeria.

In the months that followed, the Trump administration moved to detain several other students affiliated with Columbia, including Mohsen Mahdawi, whose deportation was blocked by an immigration judge last week, and Yunseo Chung, whose imminent arrest was blocked by a federal judge. Both had participated in the pro-Palestinian campus protests.

It was not immediately clear how Aghayeva end up on federal authorities’ radar.

By the afternoon, Columbia had deployed additional public safety patrols and staffing to all residential buildings, and instructed all residential staff not to allow law enforcement in without school safety agents and legal guidance.

Outside the gates, hundreds of protesters, including Hoylman-Signal and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, descended on the sidewalk next to the Morningside Heights campus, with signs that said: “ICE LIES” and “HANDS OFF OUR CAMPUS.”

“Everyone is very nervous,” said Delfina Roybal, 29, a Columbia senior majoring in political science and a friend of Aghayeva’s. “Everyone is very scared. Students are literally hiding in their dorms right now because they’re afraid to come outside.”

Roybal defended Aghayeva from the Trump administration’s claims that she was not attending her classes.

“A lot of students at this university struggle with their mental health, with getting to class, with juggling research and homework and life and work,” Roybal said. “So, to hear that that’s one of the reasons that they are taking and kidnapping students is disgusting.”

“(Aghayeva) pretty much brings light into every room that she’s in. When Ellie arrives, you know she’s there. So to not have her on campus feels like there’s a hole missing.”

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(Tom Tracy and Barry Williams contributed to this story.)

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