New York City — Chaos erupted outside Columbia University on February 5, 2026, as radical anti-ICE activists, including students and woke faculty, staged a disruptive protest demanding the Ivy League school declare itself a “sanctuary campus” to shield illegal aliens from lawful deportations.
The protest, which blocked traffic near the university’s entrance, drew the predictable response from law enforcement: the NYPD arrested 12 individuals for disorderly conduct after repeated orders to disperse were ignored. Videos of the arrests quickly went viral, showing protesters sitting defiantly in the street while officers tried to maintain order.
In a social media post, the radical group Sunrise Movement invited students to take part in the protest, framing it as a moral imperative. “Join us as we demand Columbia establish itself as a sanctuary campus and end its complicity with ICE,” the post read. After the arrests, the group doubled down, falsely claiming that Columbia’s past collaboration with federal immigration enforcement under President Trump had enabled “extrajudicial murders” across the country — a claim swiftly debunked by the university.
“Columbia University supports the right of individuals to peacefully protest,” the university stated. “However, claims made against the University during today’s protest activity, which took place outside of our gates, are factually incorrect.”
Despite this, several faculty members willingly joined the chaos, choosing to be handcuffed and taken downtown alongside students. E.Y. Zipris, an adjunct professor at Teachers College, celebrated the arrests as a “tremendous statement,” claiming it showed that students were more important than personal well-being. Jennifer S. Hirsch, a professor of sociomedical sciences, cited her Bat Mitzvah Torah portion as justification, claiming moral duty demanded she “be kind to the stranger” and oppose federal law enforcement.
Student organizers echoed this rhetoric, framing ICE enforcement as “injustice” rather than lawful immigration operations. Aharon Dardik, one student leader, said, “If you’re witnessing something really unjust, your responsibility is to protest that. And if you’re law enforcement, your job is not just to uphold the law, it’s to uphold justice.”
Conservative critics quickly condemned the stunt, pointing out the hypocrisy and lawlessness on display. Masked by the language of morality, these so-called educators and activists were disrupting city streets and encouraging students to oppose legal authority — all while the university itself bore no responsibility for federal immigration operations.
The incident at Columbia highlights a broader trend on elite campuses: the conflation of personal ideology with civic duty, and the celebration of illegal behavior as moral courage. While protesters framed their arrests as heroic, law-abiding citizens, and the city itself, paid the price in blocked traffic and public disorder.
For New Yorkers and Americans watching, the episode raises a clear question: when universities encourage faculty and students to defy federal law under the guise of “social justice,” who truly suffers? Law enforcement and the broader community, forced to clean up after theatrical, politically motivated stunts, bear the consequences of this progressive fantasy.
