On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, local law enforcement attempted to gain entry to a Barnard residence hall, claiming to be looking for a student, according to an email from Barnard leadership.

On Tuesday afternoon at 1:20 pm, the Barnard community was informed via email of an attempted entry earlier in the day by local law enforcement to one of the college’s residence halls. Officers were looking for a student and met by an access attendant. According to the email, the attendant and Community Accountability, Response, and Emergency Services (CARES) team, following protocol, contacted the Office of the General Counsel immediately, who responded “within minutes.”

The police were not granted access to the residence hall. Though this is currently only believed to be “a routine law enforcement matter” and unrelated to immigration, Barnard students were updated due to mounting concerns about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This email came after Columbia student Ellie Aghayeva (GS ’26) was detained last week when federal agents entered a Columbia Residential building.

The email emphasized the strength of Barnard protocols and expressed gratitude to the responding staff, and concluded by encouraging students to contact CARES should they see any unaccompanied law enforcement or suspicious activity.

Email sent to Barnard students at 1:20 pm on March 3, 2026 by Executive Vice President for Strategy and Chief Administrative Officer Kelli A. Murray and Vice President and General Counsel Serena Longley:

Dear Members of the Barnard Community,

Earlier today, local law enforcement officers arrived at one of Barnard’s residence halls looking for a student. They were met by the access attendant on duty.

The CARES team and the access attendant on duty followed our established protocols and immediately contacted the Office of the General Counsel, which arrived on site within minutes. Law enforcement was not granted access to the building or its residents.

There is no indication that this was anything other than a routine law enforcement matter. Although this was not related to immigration enforcement or connected to the Department of Homeland Security or ICE, we are sharing this update with the community given recent and understandably heightened concerns.

Our protocols remain strong, and we are grateful to our colleagues for their professionalism in swiftly handling this matter.

As a reminder, if you see a law enforcement officer on campus who is not accompanied by a member of our CARES Community Safety team, or if you see anything suspicious, please contact CARES immediately at 212-854-6666.

Thank you,

Kelli A. Murray

Executive Vice President for Strategy and Chief Administrative Officer 

Serena Longley

Vice President and General Counsel 

Barnard via Bwarchives