One day after federal immigration agents detained a Columbia University student inside campus housing, the university said its tightening safety protocols.

The changes come after student Ellie Aghayeva was detained for several hours on Thursday by federal agents.

What You Need To Know

One day after federal immigration agents detained a Columbia University student inside campus housing, the university said its tightening safety protocols

The changes come after student Ellie Aghayeva was detained for several hours on Thursday by federal agents

The university alleges agents gained access, without a judicial warrant, by claiming they were police searching for a missing child

The university alleges agents gained access, without a judicial warrant, by claiming they were police searching for a missing child.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security denied this.

“People are definitely afraid, especially now that we have a few Columbia affiliates that have been detained by the administration,” Tsehai Alfred, the editor-in-chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator, said. “I think yesterday was a striking difference to previous examples of Columbia affiliates like Mahmoud or Moshan Madawi.”

Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate student, was detained similarly last year by federal agents inside his off-campus housing.

Since Thursday’s incident, Columbia announced additional public safety protocols and new guidance for staff.

For non-emergency situations, staff are instructed not to allow any law enforcement into non-public buildings without Columbia Public Safety present and guidance from the Office of General Counsel.

“If five random people walk into a building saying that they were the police … and got to the individual that they were seeking, what does that mean for other bad actors out there?” Murad Awawdeh, the president of New York Immigration Coalition, said.

Awawdeh said the moment exposed gaps that can only be addressed with clear training.

“They should be thinking about this as if it’s a fire drill. Every single time that there’s a fire drill, everyone knows what to do,” he said.

Meanwhile, DHS said the student was detained over a visa issue and released pending a removal hearing.