Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security entered the residential building at Columbia University early on Wednesday morning and took a student into custody, according to a public letter posted by Columbia University.
In the letter, which was posted on February 26, Columbia University Acting President Claire Shipman stated that the agents took the student into custody at about 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Shipman stated that the university was working on obtaining more information, contacting the student’s family, and providing the student with legal assistance.
“Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain access to the building to search for a ’missing person,’” Shipman stated in the letter, which was titled “Important Update from Columbia University.”
The letter also reiterated the university’s policy on the access of law enforcement officers to non-public university spaces, which include the university’s residence halls, classrooms, and spaces that require CUID swipe access. Shipman stated that the officers must present the university with a judicial warrant or judicial subpoena to access the mentioned spaces. However, she also stated that having an administrative warrant is not sufficient.
The letter also stated that students and staff are not allowed to allow the agents access to the mentioned spaces or to allow the agents to serve the student or staff with the warrant or subpoena. Instead, the students or staff are required to ask the agents to wait while the university’s Public Safety contacts the Office of the General Counsel.
Shipman ended the letter by stating that the university will keep the students updated once more information is obtained. However, the federal authorities did not release more information about the case.
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