Ellie Aghayeva, a Columbia University senior who said federal immigration agents illegally arrested her after allegedly using false pretenses to enter her dorm, has been released, she confirmed on Instagram.
“I just got out a little while ago,” Aghayeva wrote in an Instagram story. “I am safe and okay. In an Uber otw (on the way) home.”
She added that she was being inundated with calls from reporters. “I need a little bit of time to process everything. I will come back soon. But please don’t worry.”
Her release came hours after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he raised her case during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump.
“Just got off the phone with President Trump. In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning,” Mamdani wrote on X. “He has just informed me that she will be released imminently.”
Aghayeva was detained early Thursday by federal immigration officers who, according to university officials and her attorneys, misrepresented themselves as New York City police searching for a missing child in order to gain entry to a residential building.
Hours earlier, she had posted to her more than 100,000 followers: “DHS (Department of Homeland Security) illegally arrested me. Please help,” alongside a photo that appeared to show the backseat of a vehicle.
IMMIGRATION SECURTINY ON CAMPUS
Aghayeva is a senior in Columbia’s School of General Studies, double majoring in neuroscience and political science. A self-described content creator, she frequently shares study routines and advice about navigating college as an immigrant.
The incident comes nearly a year after federal agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate student and Palestinian activist, in university housing. His case sparked protests and renewed debate over immigration enforcement on college campuses.
Columbia policy requires law enforcement agents to present a judicial warrant or subpoena to access non-public areas, including student housing. In her email, Shipman reminded students not to allow agents into non-public spaces and to contact campus public safety instead.
Attorneys say the use of alleged misrepresentation by immigration authorities has drawn increasing attention nationwide, even though such tactics are legal in many circumstances.
WHAT HAPPENED
According to university officials and her attorneys, agents from the Department of Homeland Security entered a Columbia residential building at approximately 6:30 a.m., claiming they were searching for a “missing person.”
“Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person,’” Acting President Claire Shipman wrote in a letter to students and staff. “We are working to gather more details.”
In an emergency petition, Aghayeva’s attorneys said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents did not have a warrant but represented they were searching for a missing person to gain entry to her university-owned apartment. She was initially held at a federal detention center in Lower Manhattan, they said.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed her arrest and said her student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the timing of her release.
With inputs from Associated Press
