A university student in New York was released from custody after federal immigration agents allegedly posing as local police arrested her.
According to a local official, agents wore “fake badges” to disguise themselves as New York Police Department (NYPD) officers to access a student residence at Columbia University.
Columbia student and online influencer Elmina Aghayeva was detained but later released after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a personal appeal to President Donald Trump, according to the mayor.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denies that agents misrepresented themselves as NYPD officers.
The arrest on Thursday morning took place at a residence owned by Columbia University, according to university president Claire Shipman.
“Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person,'” Shipman wrote in an early letter to students.
The university’s statement did not identify the student arrested, but DHS confirmed that the raid targeted Aghayeva, who is originally from Azerbaijan and is accused of not having a valid US visa.
“ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] arrested Elmina Aghayeva, an illegal alien from Azerbaijan, whose student visa was terminated in 2016 under the Obama administration for failing to attend classes,” DHS said.
The statement added that agents were let into the apartment by “the building manager and her roommate”, and that she has no pending visa applications.
“The Homeland Security Investigators verbally identified themselves and visibly wore badges around their necks,” the statement continued. “They did NOT and would not identify themselves as NYPD.”
The arrest took place as Mamdani was visiting the White House for a meeting with Trump, in part to discuss funding for housing.
Mamdani said the two men also talked about the arrest. After the meeting, Mamdani posted that he had just spoken on the phone with Trump, who “informed me that she will be released imminently”.
The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.
Later Thursday, Aghayeva shared on Instagram that she was released from custody.
“I just got out a little while ago. I am safe and okay,” she wrote to her 107,000 followers.
“I am in complete shock over what happened. I need a little bit of time to process everything.”
The arrest based on alleged deception sparked outrage among New York politicians.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal posted on X, accusing ICE agents who he said “impersonated NYPD with fake badges and a phony missing persons bulletin for a 5 year old girl”.
“They purposefully deceived campus housing/security to gain entry to the student’s apartment,” he wrote.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul called on state lawmakers to pass a bill that would “ban ICE from entering sensitive locations like schools and dorms”.
The arrest comes amid a national federal crackdown on immigration, which has led to the detention of several university students.
During the meeting at the White House, Mamdani gave Trump’s team a list of the names of four other students who have been detained for participating in pro-Palestinian activism, according to the Associated Press, and asked for help with their legal cases.
By BBC News
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