Columbia University said Thursday that federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security entered a residential building and detained a student.
"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," the school's acting president, Claire Shipman, said in a letter to the campus.
Ellie Aghayeva posted on Instagram a photo showing her in the back of a vehicle with the caption: "Dhs illegally arrested me. Please help."
Aghayeva, a senior majoring in neuroscience and political science from Azerbaijan, came to the U.S. on a visa in 2016.
In an emergency petition filed Thursday, attorneys for Aghayeva said she was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement inside her student housing and 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."
Dozens of faculty, students, and community members gathered outside Columbia's gates to protest Aghayeva's detention, according to the Columbia Spectator.
Shipman said the agents entered the housing on West 122nd Street at about 6:30 a.m.
Shipman noted in her statement that "all law enforcement agents must have a judicial warrant or judicial subpoena to access non-public areas of the University, including housing, classrooms, and areas requiring CUID swipe access. An administrative warrant is not sufficient."
She also said students should not allow law enforcement agents to enter nonpublic areas of the university or accept service of a warrant or subpoena, but should call campus public safety instead.
She said the university was in the process of reaching out to the student's family and providing legal support.
DHS had not released a statement about Aghayeva's detention.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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