U.S. President Donald Trump and New York Metropolis Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani converse to members of the media as they meet within the Oval Workplace on the White Home in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 21, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Ellie Aghayeva, a senior at Columbia College’s College of Common Research, might be launched from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody “imminently” after Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a direct enchantment to President Donald Trump, Mamdani wrote in a Thursday publish to X.
The mayor had made an unannounced journey to Washington, D.C., on Thursday and visited with the president within the afternoon.
“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 in his assertion. “He has just informed me that she will be released imminently.”
Aghayeva posted on her Instagram story at round 3:45 p.m. that she had been launched.
Columbia’s appearing president, Claire Shipman, wrote on Thursday that ICE brokers had made “misrepresentations” of their identities to be able to acquire entry to a Columbia residential constructing and detain Aghayeva early within the morning, claiming they had been trying to find a lacking individual.
“The University is relieved and thrilled that our student, Ellie, has been released from detainment,” the college wrote in an announcement shortly after Aghayeva’s launch. “We will share additional details this evening.”
A supply with data of the matter advised New York News that the brokers stated they had been with the NYPD, which a U.S. Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) official has rejected. It’s unlawful in New York State for anybody, together with federal officers, to impersonate native officers.
A DHS official didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Columbia implements further safety measures following detention
“We’ve added the following clarification: For non-emergency situations, residential staff will not allow any law enforcement entry into our buildings without Columbia Public Safety present and guidance from the Office of the General Counsel,” the replace reads.
The college instructed all residential workers to ask for identification and name Columbia Public Security “if any federal law enforcement agents attempt to gain entry to a non-public building” in a “non-emergency situation.”
The college instructed associates to contact Public Security “immediately” in the event that they “encounter or observe DHS/ICE agents conducting enforcement activities on or near campus.” Columbia organized a same-day 3 p.m. webinar on “Immigration Policy and Understanding the Law,” which it plans to repeat on the identical time on Friday for college kids, college, and workers.
Columbia pointed associates to the college’s counseling providers and different facilities for scholar help.
‘A new low’: Electeds condemn ICE detention of Columbia scholar from dorm constructing
Elected officers throughout New York Metropolis and New York State condemned the detention, which occurred at round 6:30 a.m.
Gov. Kathy Hochul stated in a Thursday assertion that the Trump administration’s “rogue deportation agenda is operating with zero transparency and even less accountability.”
“No one should disappear at the hands of the government. No student should be taken from their dorm through deception,” Hochul stated, additionally citing an incident on Tuesday by which a blind man was reportedly “abandoned” by Border Patrol officers and died within the chilly in Buffalo. “These incidents demand an independent investigation and real accountability. New York will not look the other way. If Washington won’t restore order and take action, New York will.”
ICE brokers have detained tons of of people at 26 Federal Plaza in decrease Manhattan because the begin of Trump’s second time period in workplace, which started in January 2025, most of whom had been attending routine immigration hearings. At Federal Plaza, brokers typically put on plain garments and masks to hide their identification whereas arresting immigrants.
Hochul famous her recently-proposed laws in search of to ban ICE from deputizing native legislation enforcement officers and provide additional protections for colleges and scholar housing.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and New York Metropolis Public Advocate Jumaane Williams attended a protest exterior Columbia’s gates, the place over 100 demonstrators condemned the detention and known as for Aghayeva’s launch.
“These are levels of criminality that we have not yet witnessed in New York State. This is a new low for ICE, but a new and growing danger to all New Yorkers,” Hoylman-Sigal stated. “It could be any one of us next.”
Williams known as for a right away investigation into whether or not DHS officers had been illegally impersonating NYPD officers. He condemned the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration throughout the nation, noting ICE’s presence in Minnesota, the place brokers shot and killed two residents earlier this 12 months.
“The MAGA leadership is trying to pit this country against itself and trying to get you to hate people that you shouldn’t hate,” Williams stated exterior the campus gates. “This was never about safety, this was never about rapists, this was never about murderers.”
In an announcement posted to X, Metropolis Council Speaker Julie Menin (D-Manhattan) and Metropolis Council Majority Chief Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan) condemned the incident and stated they’ve been in contact with Columbia. Each Menin and Abreu are alumni of the college.
“ICE has no place in our schools and universities,” Menin wrote within the publish, co-signed by Abreu. “These activities do not make our city or country safer, but rather drive mistrust and danger. As Columbia College alumni, our hearts are with the community there, and we have been in contact with the University to offer our assistance.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan) issued a joint assertion with Meeting Member Michah Lasher (D-Manhattan), who’s working to succeed Nadler within the Home of Representatives, following his retirement, condemning the detention.
“We are disgusted and outraged that ICE agents entered a Columbia University residential building under false pretenses and without a judicial warrant to detain a student,” Nadler and Lasher wrote within the assertion, posted to X. “ICE has no place in our Metropolis, colleges, and houses. Regulation enforcement brokers shouldn’t, beneath no circumstance, misrepresent their identification to realize entrance right into a residence.
They added that ICE is “terrorizing our neighbors and ripping students from their homes.”
Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer additionally condemned the detention, writing in an announcement to X that his workplace was “working closely with Columbia and the relevant authorities” to arrange Aghayeva’s launch.
“It is outrageous that ICE agents falsely represented themselves to arrest a Columbia graduate student by entering university-owned housing without a warrant,” Schumer wrote. “This is unacceptable. We need immediate answers from ICE on the student’s whereabouts.”
