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The Westminster statue of the former prime minister is vandalised with slogans daubed in red paint.
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Federal agents detained a Columbia University student early Thursday after Department of Homeland Security officers allegedly gained access to a university-owned residence by presenting a fake missing person poster of a 5-year-old. As news broke of the student, Ellie Aghayeva, and her detention, students and community members rallied en masse demanding her release and an end to immigration enforcement on campus. Due to restrictions implemented by the university in response to pro-Palestine protests, the students were unable to protest on campus proper, but instead took to nearby streets.
Aghayeva was released Thursday afternoon, shortly after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani brought up her case during a meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss housing. "For that decision to be quickly flipped is remarkable because it shows the power of opposition, but also how loose and flippant these arrests are, and how maybe unnecessary they are," says Zeteo's Prem Thakker, who has been reporting on the case.
Columbia's active response, including its legal support of Aghayeva, marked a departure from previous high-profile immigration arrests of its students. Mohsen Mahdawi, a former Columbia University student who last year was also detained by DHS, says Aghayeva's arrest in campus housing is a direct result of the university administration's abdication of its responsibility to protect its students. "Columbia University administration did not have the backbone, in fact, to file any lawsuits against the Trump administration for violating basic rights," says Mahdawi. "This is actually what the Trump administration intended to do, which is to fracture liberal institutions and turn the administrations against their students."
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Federal officials had misrepresented themselves to gain access, according to the university. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said President Trump had told him the student would be let go.
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U.S. citizens who have had violent encounters with federal immigration agents deployed in cities across the U.S. testified before Congress on Tuesday. Amid harrowing testimony by three victims and the brothers of Renee Good, congressional Democrats offered apologies and promises of accountability. Not a single Republican lawmaker showed up to the hearing.
Renee Good's brothers Brent and Luke Ganger both testified at the hearing, with Brent Ganger calling Good "unapologetically hopeful."
Marimar Martinez was shot multiple times by Border Patrol agents. "The mental scars will always be there as a reminder of the time my own government attempted to execute me — and when they failed, they chose to vilify me," Martinez said.
Daniel Rascon described how federal immigration agents pointed rifles at him and shot at his car. "They shattered the windows, and in that moment the whole world felt like it was the size of the inside of our pickup, and we were sitting in harm's way with nothing to do but record the horrifying experience," he said.
Aliya Rahman was stopped by federal agents and violently pulled from her vehicle — despite telling the agents that she is disabled and has a traumatic brain injury. "I now cannot lift my arms normally," said Rahman. "I was never asked for ID, never told I was under arrest, never read my rights and never charged with a crime."
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