A Columbia University student taken into federal custody early Thursday was released hours later after what officials say was an intervention by President Donald Trump, an episode that set off campus protests and revived concerns about immigration enforcement tactics.
Ellie Aghayeva, a senior from Azerbaijan studying neuroscience and politics who has more than 100,000 social media followers, was arrested at about 6 a.m., according to a petition from her attorneys and a statement from Columbia’s acting president, Claire Shipman. Shipman said five federal agents entered her apartment by telling staff they were police searching for a missing child; security camera footage, she added, shows agents in a hallway displaying photos of the alleged missing child.
Aghayeva posted on Instagram shortly after her release, saying, “I am safe and okay,” and that she was in “complete shock.” A photo she shared appeared to show her legs in the back seat of a vehicle, and she wrote that “DHS illegally arrested me.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a social media post that during an unrelated meeting with Trump he raised concerns about the arrest. Mamdani said the president agreed to free Aghayeva immediately and that he also pressed Trump to drop cases against several current and former students facing deportation over their roles in pro‑Palestinian protests while presenting a major housing proposal.
The Department of Homeland Security disputed some details but confirmed elements of the case. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said Aghayeva’s student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes and that she was placed in removal proceedings before being “released while she waits for her hearing.” McLaughlin rejected claims that agents posed as New York City police but did not directly address whether agents said they were searching for a missing child.
Civil liberties and immigration lawyers have increasingly scrutinized the use of ruses and disguises by immigration agents. Instances of officers posing as utility workers and other service personnel have been documented in Minneapolis and other cities. While those tactics are generally legal, critics say they are becoming more common and stoke fear among immigrant communities, especially as enforcement priorities shift under the current administration.
Campus reaction was swift. Students and faculty staged protests and renewed calls for Columbia to better protect international students, citing a March arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student and pro‑Palestinian activist whose deportation case remains pending. Concerns are heightened by Columbia’s recent settlement with the federal government: the university agreed last summer to pay more than $220 million to resolve claims with the administration, a development some say may invite renewed scrutiny.
“It’s a horrifying sign that the roving eye of the administration is turning back to Columbia,” said Michael Thaddeus, a Columbia mathematics professor and vice president of the university chapter of the American Association of University Professors. “The idea that secret police would abduct and imprison students in our midst is something we’d expect from an authoritarian regime.”
In guidance sent campuswide, Shipman urged residential staff not to allow federal law enforcement into university buildings without a warrant or subpoena. She advised anyone who encounters DHS or ICE agents on or near campus to contact Public Safety immediately, to refuse entry to nonpublic areas and not to accept service of legal papers.
Columbia and Aghayeva’s attorneys have raised legal and procedural questions about the arrest. DHS maintains Aghayeva is in removal proceedings and was released pending her hearing. The episode underscores tensions around immigration enforcement on college campuses and the political flashpoints that have emerged around recent pro‑Palestinian protests.