A student at Columbia University was detained Thursday morning by federal immigration officers.
Columbia University President Claire Shipman said that “federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person.’” The school’s campus has been closed to outsiders since 2024.
The president did not name the student, but it has been confirmed to be Ellie Aghayeva, an undergraduate neuroscience student who was expected to graduate this year. She was taken from her dorm room at the school’s New York City campus at 6:30 am.
I think 1 is unlikely because it’s NYPD and ICE. 2 is true broadly because there isn’t a law forbidding it in general, but there is a law against lying about being a public servant.
I don’t think there will be charges here, but I think a very ambitious prosecutor could bring charges. They might even find a jury mad enough to make them stick.