NEW YORK (AP) — 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.
The student, Ellie Aghayeva, is a senior from Azerbaijan who is studying neuroscience and political science, her lawyers said. A self-described content creator, she frequently shares inspirational stories
and tips about navigating college as an immigrant to her sizable social media audience.
At around 7:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, Aghayeva posted a message to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram. “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help," she wrote, referring to the Department of Homeland Security. A photo accompanying the post appeared to show the backseat of a vehicle.
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. Aghayeva entered the United States on a visa in 2016, the petition stated.
A spokesperson for DHS did not respond to multiple inquiries about what prompted the arrest and whether Aghayeva's legal status had changed. Her lawyers also did not respond to additional questions.
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.
She said the university was in the process of reaching out to the student’s family and providing legal support.
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 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.
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. Khalil is out on bail, fighting his own deportation case.
In the months after his arrest, many students called on the university to do more to secure the campus from federal immigration enforcement.
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 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.
