Gillibrand Calls DHS Actions In Buffalo And At Columbia University “Inhumane And Outrageous”

Gillibrand Calls DHS Actions In Buffalo And At Columbia University "Inhumane And Outrageous"

Feb 27, 2026

Today, U.S. Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) released the following statement regarding recent reports that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents misrepresented their purpose to gain entry to a Columbia University-owned apartment to detain a student and, in a separate incident, left a nearly blind refugee outdoors in cold conditions in Buffalo, where he later died:

"Donald Trump promised lower costs and a stronger America. Instead, he has delivered chaos, uncertainty, and unaffordability across our country and New York.

"The actions of the Department of Homeland Security agents at Columbia University, where they allegedly lied about a missing person to gain entry to detain a student without a warrant, and in Buffalo, where they abandoned a nearly blind man in the cold leading to his death, are inhumane and outrageous. These are not isolated incidents; they are symptoms of an agency out of control.

"We cannot ignore that while working class families and small businesses across New York struggle with rising prices caused by Trump's illegal tariffs, this administration chose to cut $1 trillion from health care programs that help our seniors and children, all to fund tax breaks for billionaires and supercharge DHS' terrorizing of our communities. This is unacceptable and dangerous. These latest horrifying incidents in New York only underscore that this out-of-control agency cannot be funded until it is reformed."

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