Columbia student detained by federal agents who claimed to be seeking ‘missing person,’ school says
Feb 26, 2026, 9:36 AM | Updated: 5:50 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal immigration agents detained a Columbia University student early Thursday after gaining access to a residence hall by posing as investigators searching for a “missing person,” according to the school’s president.
In an email shared with students and staff, the university’s acting president, Claire Shipman, said agents with the Department of Homeland Security entered a residential building at around 6:30 a.m. and detained the student.
“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.
It was not immediately clear what led to the detainment, and university officials declined to provide further details, including the student’s name.
Inquiries to DHS were not immediately returned.
The use of disguises or other misrepresentations by immigration authorities has drawn attention in recent months, after federal agents were seen posing as utility workers and other service employees in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
The practice is legal, in most cases. But immigration attorneys say such ruses are becoming increasingly common, adding to concerns about the Trump administration’s dramatic reshaping of immigration enforcement tactics nationwide.
The incident comes nearly one year after federal agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, then a Columbia graduate student and Palestinian activist, inside his university-owned housing. Khalil is out on bail, fighting his own deportation case.
In the months after his arrest, many students called on the university to do more to secure the campus from federal immigration enforcement.
Columbia currently requires that all law enforcement agents have a judicial warrant or subpoena to access non-public areas of the university, including housing.
In her email, Shipman said students should not allow law enforcement agents to enter non-public areas of the university and should not accept service of a warrant or subpoena, but should call campus public safety instead.
She said the university was in the process of reaching out to the student’s family and providing legal support.
