Department of Homeland Security agents detained a student at Columbia University, the institution’s acting president said in a statement on Thursday. The student, identified as Ellie Aghayeva by the university’s student newspaper, the Columbia Daily Spectator, was later released on Thursday, according to an update posted to a social media account belonging to Aghayeva.
Aghayeva describes herself as a neuroscience researcher and is pursuing an undergraduate degree in neurobiology and behavior and political science, according to her LinkedIn account. A statement reviewed by the New York Times and provided to the American Association of University Professors by Aghayeva’s friends also identifies her as an international student with a visa majoring in neuroscience and political science.
“We are exporting education to the world by having students come to the United States to study, and that is being undermined in in ways that are really problematic,” says Virginia Page Fortna, Harold Brown Professor of U.S. Foreign and Security Policy at Columbia University.
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Aghayeva is listed as a co-author on a book entitled Ways of Thinking and Imagining, which explores mental imagery and visual perception. The book was published by the Living Lab, which was run by former Columbia University faculty member Alfredo Spagna, who is also a co-author of the book. His research focuses on the neural and psychological underpinnings of visual perception and mental imagery. Spagna did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Scientific American.
Columbia University’s acting president Claire Shipman said in the statement that federal agents “made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person.’” Columbia did not confirm the student’s identity to Scientific American.
The DHS action comes just under a year after federal immigration agents detained another Columbia student, Mahmoud Khalil, in March 2025. He was released last June, and legal action surrounding his case is continuing.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Scientific American.
Editor’s Note (2/26/26): This is a developing story and may be updated.