A concerning new detail has emerged in the case of aColumbia University studentwho was briefly detained after ICE entered campus housing without a judicial warrant, officials say.
According to reports, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Elmina 'Ellie' Aghayeva, a 29-year-old senior at the university, after allegedly misleading a building security guard to gain entry on 26 February.
She was released the same afternoon after several hours in custody.
The arrest carried out without a judicial warrant, according to the university, has triggered protests on campus and renewed scrutiny over how federal agents enter student housing.
Aghayeva is a senior in Columbia's School of General Studies and is expected to graduate in 2026 with a double major in neuroscience and political science.
Friends and classmates describe her as a highly active student involved in campus groups and online communities.
Outside of school, she built a following of more than 100,000 people across Instagram and TikTok, where she posted content about productivity, academics and her experience as an immigrant student in the United States.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), her F-1 student visa was terminated in 2016 after she allegedly stopped attending classes at a previous institution. DHS said she had remained in the country without legal status since then and was therefore subject to removal proceedings.
Columbia officials, however, confirmed that Aghayeva was currently enrolled and living in university-linked housing at the time of the arrest.
On 26 February, around 6:00am, five plainclothes agents affiliated with the Department of Homeland Security arrived at Aghayeva's residential building in Manhattan, according to university officials.
Source: International Business Times UK
