ICE operation at Columbia sparks questions after agents posed as police

Summary

ICE agents at Columbia University on Feb. 26 prompted an unusual sequence of law-enforcement activity and quickly became a flashpoint over how immigration enforcement can affect public trust. A 911 call reported two “suspicious” men in dark clothing lingering inside a Columbia University residential building at 6:32 a.m., and New York Police Department officers responded to the scene. Instead of finding what the call described, the officers encountered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents already conducting what Columbia later described as an elaborate operation.

Columbia said the agents gained access to the building by posing as police in search of a 5-year-old, going as far as presenting a flyer of the “missing child” to a campus safety officer, before reaching the apartment of Ellie Aghayeva, an international student from Azerbaijan. The NYPD officers arrived after the agents had entered her apartment, a department spokesperson said, and then confirmed the men were federal agents before leaving the building.

The federal arrest of Aghayeva, which came amid ongoing immigration enforcement, drew public criticism and demands for investigation by Democrats. The backlash also included what the report described as an intervention by President Donald Trump, who told New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani that Aghayeva was to be released shortly after meeting with the mayor on Thursday, according to the report.

As new details emerged, the episode also threatened to intensify tensions between the NYPD and ICE at a time when ICE operations have increasingly involved agents using disguises to enter or approach their targets. The report said former police officers viewed the apparent misrepresentation at Columbia as a striking escalation that could undermine the level of trust needed for cooperation in the next emergency.

Michael Alcazar, a retired NYPD hostage negotiator, said the credibility of police could be harmed if people believe that emergency calls lead to a deception. “If the police are actually looking for a child in danger, people are now going to be more hesitant to help,” Alcazar said, adding that ICE subterfuge could make the job of police officers more difficult.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin disputed parts of Columbia’s narrative, saying the federal agents “verbally identified themselves and visibly wore badges around their necks” and were allowed into the building by a property manager. The report said McLaughlin did not respond to repeated questions about whether the agents used the guise of a missing child to enter the apartment, and Columbia declined to release security-camera footage of what it said the agents did in the hallway.

Columbia’s acting president, Claire Shipman, said on Thursday that security cameras captured the agents in the hallway showing pictures of the alleged missing child, and she called the situation “utterly unacceptable,” while noting that Columbia had not released the footage. The NYPD also declined to share body camera footage of its response, and a spokesperson said the officers followed the law by not interfering in what the department said was an active federal investigation.

The report said Aghayeva’s arrest prompted protests at Columbia, along with fear and confusion among friends and others. A petition filed by her attorneys on Thursday said she was not given a reason for the arrest, and another DHS spokesperson said Aghayeva’s visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes; the report said she remained in removal proceedings despite her release.

Policing experts speaking in the report said research shows deceptive tactics are particularly likely to hurt legitimacy when the resulting arrest appears “perceived to be unjustified,” in part because it can damage perceptions of fairness in the criminal justice system. Jeffrey Fagan, a law professor at Columbia who studies policing, said, “Anybody looking at this is going to immediately think it’s unjustified,” warning that could erode trust in relevant communities when officers next need cooperation.

Peter Moskos, a professor of criminal justice at John Jay University and a former Baltimore police officer, said sanctuary policies were designed to build public safety by fostering trust between immigrant communities and police. Moskos said the idea was that residents would trust cops and call them when needed without fearing deportation, but that “ICE seems to be doing everything they can to break down trust.”