(New York) The 911 call was received at 6:32 a.m. Thursday: two “suspicious” men, wearing dark clothing, were loitering in a Columbia University residence hall.
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However, when New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were dispatched to the scene, they found Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents engaged in an operation of unusual magnitude.
According to a statement later released by Columbia, ICE agents entered the building posing as police officers looking for a five-year-old child, going so far as to present a search notice for the “missing child” to a campus security officer.
This ruse allowed them to access the apartment of Ellie Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani international student who immigration services say is in an irregular situation.
NYPD officers arrived after the men entered his apartment, a department spokesperson said. They confirmed they were federal agents, then quickly left the building.
The arrest sparked a wave of outrage and calls for an investigation from Democrats, as well as a surprising intervention from President Donald Trump. The Republican informed New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani of M’s releaseme Aghayeva shortly after her meeting with the Democratic mayor on Thursday.
Undermining public trust
As new details emerge, the operation also threatens to create conflict between the city Police Department and ICE, whose agents are increasingly disguising themselves as utility workers, delivery workers and other uniformed professionals to carry out Donald Trump’s sweeping deportation campaign.
Although such tactics are not illegal, former police officers said the apparent deception in Columbia represented a worrying escalation, one that could seriously undermine public trust during the next emergency.
“If the police are truly looking for a child in danger, people will now be more reluctant to help,” said Michael Alcazar, a retired NYPD hostage negotiator. Almost immediately, this kind of subterfuge by ICE will make the task of the police more difficult. »
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, disputed parts of the university’s account, saying the federal agents “identified themselves verbally and had their badges visibly around their necks” and were allowed entry into the building by a property manager.
Mme McLaughlin did not respond to repeated questions about whether officers used the excuse of a missing child to enter the apartment.
Claire Shipman, the university’s interim president, said Thursday that security cameras had “filmed officers in the hallway showing photos of the allegedly missing child,” adding that the situation was “totally unacceptable.”
Columbia University has so far refused to release these images.
The NYPD also declined to share footage from its officers’ body cameras. A department spokesperson said the officers acted within the law by not interfering in an ongoing federal investigation.
Demonstrations
The arrest of Mme Aghayeva caused protests in Columbia, as well as fear and confusion.
PHOTO ROSELLE CHEN, REUTERS
Protesters on the Columbia University campus
Her friends said she was in her final year studying neuroscience and political science and had a student visa. In an emergency motion filed Thursday, his lawyers wrote that no reason had been given to him for his arrest.
A DHS spokesperson clarified that Ms.’s visame Aghayeva was canceled in 2016 for truancy. She remains under deportation proceedings despite her release, the spokesperson stressed.
Jeffrey Fagan, a Columbia law professor and expert on policing issues, commented that research has shown that deceptive tactics employed by police are particularly likely to undermine the legitimacy of law enforcement when they result in an arrest “perceived as unjustified.”
“Anyone looking at this case will immediately think it is unjustified,” he said. This will therefore erode trust in the affected community the next time officers need their cooperation. »
Peter Moskos, a criminal justice professor at John Jay University and a former Baltimore police officer, agrees. He points out that sanctuary policies were initially intended to enhance public safety by building trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement.
“The idea is that people trust the police, that they call them when necessary, knowing that they will not be deported,” he explains. However, ICE seems to be doing everything to destroy this trust. »
