need to know
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Federal immigration agents detained Columbia University neuroscience researcher early Thursday morning
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School accuses agents of ‘making false statements’ to gain access to building
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The incident follows the high-profile detention of Mahmoud Khalil, leader of last year’s pro-Palestinian campus protests
A Columbia University student was detained by immigration officials Thursday morning after federal agents allegedly “made false statements” to campus security officers, the university said.
Columbia University Acting President Claire Shipman said in a letter to the Columbia community that Homeland Security agents detained a student at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, February 26.
“Our current understanding is that federal agents made false statements in order to enter the building to search for a ‘missing person,'” Shipman wrote. “We are working to gather additional details.”
The letter did not reveal the student’s identity, but revealed it to the university’s main student newspaper, colombian observeridentified them as Ellie Aghayeva – a neuroscience researcher from Azerbaijan who will graduate from the School of General Studies this year.
Contacted by PEOPLE, Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed that Ahayeva has been detained.
Ahayeva posted on her Instagram story Thursday morning: “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help.”
Reached for comment, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Agaeva’s student visa was terminated for failing to attend classes in 2016 and that the building manager and her roommate allowed agents into the apartment.
Shipman said in the message that federal agents are not allowed to enter non-public areas of the university without a judicial warrant.
It was unclear whether an arrest warrant had been filed Thursday, though New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on social media that a proper search warrant had not been served.
“Let’s be clear about what happened: ICE agents didn’t have a proper search warrant, so they lied to get into students’ private residences,” Hochul said.
Students and teachers held an “emergency rally” at noon on Thursday to protest against Ahayeva’s detention bystander the report said.
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Ahayeva’s detention follows the detentions of last year’s classmates Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, both green card holders and active leaders of pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia’s campus.
Both men were released, but Khalil was detained for three months without charge and missed the birth of his son.
In September 2025, a judge ruled that the federal government violated their constitutional rights.
The case against Mahadawi is now closed, however, the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to deport Khalil again after a judge overturned a previous order calling for his release.
Read the original article on People