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ICE agents misrepresented themselves to arrest a student at Columbia, lawyers say
+679 words added -470 words removed
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The Associated Press
A New York City police officer keeps watch on the campus of Columbia University in New York on May 6, 2024.
The practice is legal, in most cases. But immigration attorneys say such ruses are becoming increasingly common, adding to concerns about the Trump administration's dramatic reshaping of immigration enforcement tactics nationwide.
− Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
NEW YORK — A Columbia University student was arrested early Thursday by federal immigration agents who gained entry to a campus residence by claiming they were searching for a "missing person," according to her attorneys and the school's president.
+ Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
NEW YORK — Federal immigration authorities arrested a Columbia University student early Thursday, triggering protests on campus along with allegations that agents had entered the university-owned residence under false pretenses.
− The student, Ellie Aghayeva, is a senior from Azerbaijan who is studying neuroscience and political science, her lawyers said.
+ Just hours after detaining student Ellie Aghayeva, though, the federal government abruptly reversed course, permitting her to walk free after the apparent intervention by President Donald Trump.
In a social media post Thursday afternoon, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he expressed concerns about the arrest during an unrelated meeting with Trump, who then agreed to release her immediately.
"I am safe and okay," Aghayeva wrote on Instagram, minutes after Mamdani's post, adding she was in "complete shock" from the experience.
The head-spinning sequence of events showed that Mamdani and Trump can find common ground, despite the Republican president's past threat to deport the democratic socialist and defund New York City if he was elected mayor.
Interview highlights 'They wanted to separate me from my family': Mahmoud Khalil speaks after ICE release On Thursday, while pitching Trump on a massive housing project, Mamdani also called on the president to drop cases against several other current and former students facing deportation for their roles in protests against Israel.
Aghayeva, a senior from Azerbaijan studying neuroscience and politics, hasn't been publicly linked to any of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that roiled Columbia's campus.
− A self-described content creator, she frequently shares inspirational stories and tips about navigating college as an immigrant to her sizable social media audience.
+ A self-described content creator, she has amassed a large social media following by sharing day-in-the-life videos and tips for navigating college as an immigrant.
− At around 7 a.m.
+ Early Thursday, federal agents gained entry to her apartment by claiming they were searching for a missing person, according to a petition from her lawyers and a statement released by Columbia.
− on Thursday morning, Aghayeva posted a message to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram.
+ She quickly dashed off a message to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram: "DHS illegally arrested me.
− "DHS illegally arrested me.
+ Please help." A photo accompanying the post appeared to show her legs in the backseat of a vehicle.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Aghayeva's student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes.
− Please help," she wrote, referring to the Department of Homeland Security. A photo accompanying the post appeared to show the backseat of a vehicle.
+ Inquiries to Columbia about her visa status and how long she had been enrolled in the university were not returned.
− In an emergency petition filed Thursday, attorneys for Aghayeva said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement entered her university-owned apartment in Manhattan early Thursday, then transferred to a federal detention center in Lower Manhattan.
The agents did not have a warrant, her attorneys said, but "represented they were searching for a missing person to gain entry."
No reason was given for the arrest, according to the petition, which requests her immediate release.
+ In their petition, attorneys for Aghayeva said she had entered the country on a visa in or around 2016.
− Aghayeva entered the United States on a visa in 2016, the petition stated.
+ They declined to provide additional comment, including details about her immigration status.
− A spokesperson for DHS did not respond to multiple inquiries about what prompted the arrest and whether Aghayeva's legal status had changed.
+ A spokesperson for DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, denied allegations levied by some state officials that agents had gained entry to her apartment by posing as New York City police officers.
− Her lawyers also did not respond to additional questions.
+ She didn't respond to questions about whether they had claimed to be seeking a missing person.
− In an email shared with students and staff, the university's acting president, Claire Shipman, said that federal agents had entered a residential building at around 6:30 a.m., claiming they were seeking a missing person.
+ The use of disguises or other misrepresentations by immigration authorities has drawn attention in recent months, after federal agents were seen posing as utility workers and other service employees in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
− She said the university was in the process of reaching out to the student's family and providing legal support.
Interview highlights 'They wanted to separate me from my family': Mahmoud Khalil speaks after ICE release The use of disguises or other misrepresentations by immigration authorities has drawn attention in recent months, after federal agents were seen posing as utility workers and other service employees in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
− The incident comes nearly one year after federal agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, then a Columbia graduate student and Palestinian activist, inside his university-owned housing.
+ In recent weeks, Trump has once again intensified his attacks on several universities, including Harvard and UCLA.
− Khalil is out on bail, fighting his own deportation case.
+ The arrest would seem to mark the first federal enforcement action against at Columbia since the university agreed to pay more than $220 million to the administration over the summer.
− In the months after his arrest, many students called on the university to do more to secure the campus from federal immigration enforcement.
+ "It's a horrifying sign that the roving eye of the administration is turning back to Columbia," said Michael Thaddeus, a professor at Columbia and vice president of the university's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which has sued Trump. "The idea that secret police would abduct and imprison students in our midst is something we'd expect from an authoritarian regime."
Many students and faculty called on Columbia to increase protections for international students following the arrest last March of Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, whose deportation case remains ongoing.
− Columbia currently requires that all law enforcement agents have a judicial warrant or subpoena to access non-public areas of the university, including housing.
+ In an email to the Columbia community Thursday, acting president Claire Shipman said that residential staff had been reminded not to allow federal law enforcement into university buildings without a subpoena or warrant.
− In her email, Shipman said students should not allow law enforcement agents to enter non-public areas of the university and should not accept service of a warrant or subpoena, but should call campus public safety instead.
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+ "If you encounter or observe DHS/ICE agents conducting enforcement activities on or near campus, immediately contact Public Safety," Shipman wrote. "Do not allow them to enter non-public areas or accept service of a warrant or subpoena."
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