ICE Agents Entered Columbia Dorm Under False Pretext to Detain Student
By Reuters | 26 Feb, 2026

An unidentified student was roused from her dorm room and detained by ICE early Thursday morning, prompting protests from Columbia President Claire Shipman and New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

Students walk on campus at Columbia University during the first day of the fall semester in New York City, U.S., September 2, 2025. REUTERS/Ryan Murphy

Agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they were searching for a missing person when they entered a Columbia University residential building on Thursday and detained a student, Columbia acting President Claire Shipman said in a statement.

The university did not release the name of the student, who was detained at about 6:30 a.m., Shipman said.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"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 said, adding that law enforcement agents need a judicial warrant or subpoena to enter non-public university areas, including housing and classrooms.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, in a social media post, accused immigration agents of lying.

"Let’s be clear about what happened: ICE agents didn't have the proper warrant, so they lied to gain access to a student’s private residence," Hochul said on X.

Shipman said that when law enforcement agents seek entry to such areas, they should be asked to wait for campus security to coordinate the university's response.

Even during President Donald Trump's ongoing immigration crackdown, arrests of students on campuses or in campus housing remain rare. 

The last arrests on the Columbia University campus occurred about a year ago, after pro-Palestinian protests, and included Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent activist who was released from a jail for immigrants three months later and continues to challenge in court the effort to revoke his U.S. lawful permanent residency green card and deport him. 

(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova; editing by Donna Bryson and Bill Berkrot)