By Victoria Albert and Terell Wright

Federal immigration officials arrested a student at Columbia University early Thursday, with the school saying it believes agents "made misrepresentations" to get into a residential building.

The agents entered the building at around 6:30 a.m., Acting President Claire Shipman said. The school believes the agents said they were looking for a "missing person" to gain access, she said.

"It is important to reiterate that all law enforcement agents must have a judicial warrant or judicial subpoena to access non-public areas of the University, including housing, classrooms, and areas requiring CUID swipe access," Shipman said.

A Homeland Security official said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Elmina Aghayeva, of Azerbaijan. The department said Aghayeva's visa was terminated under then-President Obama in 2016 for failing to attend classes and that she didn't have any pending applications with the Homeland Security Department.

The official said the building manager and Aghayeva's roommate let officers into the apartment.

Dozens of protesters gathered outside Columbia's gates in New York City's Morningside Heights neighborhood Thursday afternoon.

"Sanctuary campus now," the group chanted.

Amber Moore, a 29-year-old master's student, said many students are frustrated and don't feel safe on campus. She left class to demonstrate at the protest, and was holding a notebook that said "Hands Off Our Classmates" written in marker.

"There's a lot of fear from people with international backgrounds," Moore said. "I want to see campus public safety do better and try to keep us safe."

Columbia, the site of some of the most vigorous student protests over the Israel-Gaza war, has repeatedly tangled with the Trump administration. At least two Columbia students involved with the protests, Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, were detained during the early days of President Trump's second term.

The Trump administration last year accused Columbia of violating antidiscrimination laws against Jewish students, and at one point threatened the school's accreditation. The university agreed in July to pay $200 million to settle the fight.

Write to Victoria Albert at victoria.albert@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2026 14:20 ET (19:20 GMT)

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