Columbia Student Freed After ICE Detention That University Says Followed Deceptive Dorm Entry

Overview

• New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said after an unannounced White House meeting that President Donald Trump agreed to release Columbia student Elmina Aghayeva, who later posted that she was safe.
• Interim president Claire Shipman said five federal agents entered a Columbia residence hall around 6:30 a.m. by saying they were police looking for a missing child before detaining the student.
• Governor Kathy Hochul said the agents lacked the proper warrant and called for legislation to prohibit ICE from entering sensitive locations such as schools and dormitories.
• The Department of Homeland Security had not responded to Reuters requests for comment on the allegations at the time of reporting.
• DHS recently reported hiring 12,000 new ICE agents, drawing scrutiny over delayed background checks cited in an internal email, reports of recruits dismissed during training for criminal issues, and warnings from Senator Dick Durbin as Congress remains locked over proposed limits on ICE and CBP operations.