Columbia University student arrested by ICE gains freedom after few hours

“ICE placed her in removal proceedings, and she has been released while she waits for her hearing,” DHS said.

ADEFEMOLA AKINTADE • February 27, 2026

Columbia’s campus with students

Elmina Aghayeva, 29, a student at Columbia University in the United States, has been released from custody hours after federal immigration agents arrested her at her off-campus Columbia residence.

“The University is relieved and thrilled that our student, Ellie, has been released from detainment,” the Ivy League institution posted on social media Thursday evening.

Ms Aghayeva was originally from Azerbaijan.

Claire Shipman, the university’s acting president, said the ICE agents accessed the building around 6:00 a.m. Thursday, under the pretext of looking for a missing child.

“Our security cameras captured the agents in the hallway showing pictures of the alleged missing child,” Ms Shipman said.

The officers immediately swooped in to arrest Ms Aghayeva, accusing her of overstaying her student visa since she entered the country in 2016.

The school’s acting president said ICE operatives “misrepresented” themselves.

The public security asked the five ICE agents in plainclothes to provide an arrest warrant, but they had none. Still, Ms Aghayeva was whisked away.

The Department of Homeland Security justified the arrest in a statement claiming Ms Aghayeva’s “student visa was terminated in 2016 under the Obama administration for failing to attend classes”.

The DHS further said she had no pending applications to remain in the U.S. But the student’s lawyer quickly filed a petition for her release.

The New York Times cited Ms Aghayeva’s friends, who affirmed that she is a “senior in the university’s School of General Studies, majoring in neuroscience and political science”.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who had scheduled a meeting with President Donald Trump, said, “He (Mr Trump) has just informed me that she will be released imminently,” the New York City Mayor said around 3 p.m.

After some hours, DHS confirmed Ms Aghayeva’s release, describing her as an “illegal alien” whose deportation process remains active.

“ICE placed her in removal proceedings, and she has been released while she waits for her hearing,” it said.

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