A prominent Columbia University student and influencer has become the focus of an escalating federal immigration row, after she claimed on social media that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents 'illegally arrested' her during an early‑morning operation at her university housing.
Ellie Aghayeva, a neuroscience student with a large online following, was detained on Thursday, 26 February, in a case that has triggered sharply conflicting accounts from university leaders and federal officials, and prompted Columbia to tighten its rules on law‑enforcement access to campus.
