Feds searched 2 Columbia student residences but made no arrests, university says

Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security searched two student residences at Columbia University on Thursday night but left without making any arrests or seizing any evidence, according to the school’s leadership.

Katrina Armstrong, Columbia’s interim president, wrote in a late-night message to the school community that the agency had served the university with two warrants signed by a federal magistrate judge “to enter non-public areas of the University and conduct searches of two student rooms.”

DHS is the federal agency that oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Armstrong added that the school’s policies allow law enforcement officials to enter non-public areas of its campus if they present a judicial warrant.

“Tonight, that threshold was met, and the University is obligated to comply with the law,” she wrote. “Our University Public Safety [staff] was present at all times. Columbia continues to make every effort to ensure that our campus, students, faculty, and staff are safe.”

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for DHS referred Gothamist to ICE, which did not immediately respond. Columbia also did not respond to an inquiry.

It was not immediately clear whether the searches Thursday were related to Columbia graduate and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest by ICE agents last Saturday. That case has sparked a fierce legal battle over his detention and sparked protests across the city as he faces potential deportation. The Trump administration has accused Khalil, whose attorneys say he is a U.S. permanent resident originally from Syria, of leading “activities aligned to” the terrorist group Hamas, but it has not provided details and he has not been charged with a crime.

The day before Khalil’s arrest, the administration revoked $400 million in federal funding for Columbia, citing “relentless violence, intimidation, and antisemitic harassment” on its campus, which last year became a focal point for student protests over the war in Gaza.

In her letter Thursday, Armstrong acknowledged the “immense stress” the university community is under from recent events. She said the school would remain a place “where the rule of law and due process is respected.”

This is a developing story and has been updated. Christian Santana and Andrew Giambrone contributed reporting.