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(EL PASO, Texas) — The Department of Defense mistakenly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone over El Paso, according to a statement from House representatives and a congressional aide.

Congress was briefed on the incident on Thursday, a source confirmed to ABC News.

The Federal Aviation Administration expanded its temporary flight restrictions over the Fort Hancock airspace in Texas, about 50 miles to the southeast of El Paso, which prohibits all flight operations there through June 24, due to “security” reasons. 

The location of the airspace restriction does not impact commercial flights, according to the FAA.

The Pentagon, CBP and the FAA released a joint statement in response to the incident.

“This reported engagement occurred when the Department of War employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace,” the statement said.

“The engagement took place far away from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity,” the statement went on to say. “These agencies will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.”

The statement didn’t include specifics about the nature of the drone that was shot down but said: “At President Trump’s direction, the Department of War, FAA, and Customs and Border Patrol are working together in an unprecedented fashion to mitigate drone threats by Mexican cartels and foreign terrorist organizations at the U.S.-Mexico Border.”

Congressional Democrats issued a statement criticizing the incident.

In the statement, ranking members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure said: “Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high risk counter-unmanned aircraft system.”

The statement, from Rick Larsen, D-Wash., André Carson, D-Ind. and Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., called out the White House directly.

“We said MONTHS ago that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS and the FAA was a short-sighted idea. Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” the members said.

The incident comes after the FAA’s abrupt shutdown of airspace over El Paso earlier this month.

Sources with direct knowledge told ABC News at the time that it came days after a laser was used by the Department of Homeland Security to shoot down an object in the vicinity of Fort Bliss. One of the sources said the object was a balloon.

The FAA imposed a surprise 10-day shutdown of airspace within a 10-mile radius of El Paso, halting all arrivals and departures at its airport for what it initially described only as “special security reasons.”

Within hours, the FAA rescinded the order. The Trump administration said the closing of airspace was related to the military neutralizing cartel drones, not a balloon.

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(NEW YORK) — A Columbia University student who was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents Thursday morning after the school claimed agents allegedly made “misrepresentations” to enter a dorm was released later in the day after New York City’s mayor spoke with the president.Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Thursday afternoon that President Donald Trump informed him that the student, Elaina Aghayeva, would be “released immediately” after the mayor said he spoke with the president.

Previously, following the Mamdani’s meeting, Claire Shipman, the school’s acting president, sent a letter to the school community informing them that the DHS agents entered an unspecified dorm on the campus around 6:30 a.m. and detained the student.

“Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person.’ We are working to gather more details,” she said.

A statement from a DHS official identified Aghayeva as an Azerbajani native, and alleged her “student visa was terminated in 2016 under the Obama administration for failing to attend classes.”

“The building manager and her roommate let officers into the apartment. She has no pending appeals or applications with DHS,” the statement further said.

The statement did not address the allegations that DHS agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building.

Mamdani, who met with Trump at the White House Thursday, posted a statement on social media in the afternoon in which he said he spoke with the president about the incident.

“In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning. He has just informed me that she will be released imminently,” Mamdani said.

Aghayeva made a story on her Instagram page shortly after Mamdani’s announcement, in which she expressed gratitude for the support.

“I just got out a little while ago. I am safe and okay. In an uber (on the way) back home,” she said. “I am so sorry, but I am in complete shock over what happened.”

Aghayeva was seen by ABC News exiting a vehicle and entering building. She did not give a statement.

An attorney representing Aghayeva filed a petition in federal court Thursday asking a judge to order her release.

Carl Hurvich said in court documents that the student was unlawfully detained and was being held “without justification.”  

The habeas petition said agents “represented they were searching for a missing person to gain entry” and did not have a warrant for Aghayeva’s arrest. Hurvich requested a temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from transferring Aghayeva outside of New York.  

Aghayeva is described in court documents as an undergrad student at Columbia’s School of General Studies pursuing a degree in neuroscience and political science. She entered the U.S. around 2016 on a visa, the filing says. 

Protests took place on the school’s campus on Thursday following the news of the student’s detention, but there were no reported incidents or arrests.

The school was “working to reach the family, and providing legal support,” the Shipman said in her letter.

“It is important to reiterate that all law enforcement agents must have a judicial warrant or judicial subpoena to access non-public areas of the University, including housing, classrooms, and areas requiring CUID swipe access,” the letter said.

“If law enforcement agents seek entry to non-public areas of the University, ask the agents to wait to enter any non-public areas until contacting Public Safety,” Shipman wrote. “Public Safety will contact the Office of the General Counsel to coordinate the University’s response. Do not allow them to enter or accept service of a warrant or subpoena.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement condemning the federal agents’ alleged actions.

“Let’s be clear about what happened: ICE agents didn’t have the proper warrant, so they lied to gain access to a student’s private residence,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler echoed the governor’s statement.

“Law enforcement agents should not, under no circumstance, misrepresent their identity to gain entrance into a residence. These actions do not keep us safe, they only sow distrust and fear into our community. ICE is terrorizing our neighbors and ripping students from their homes,” Nadler said in a statement, in part. “We are doing everything in our power to help bring the student home.”

Thursday’s incident is not the first encounter between the Trump administration and Columbia.

Last year, pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and held for 104 days on immigration charges.

U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz issued an order on June 20 granting Khalil’s release on bail after determining that he presented neither a danger nor a flight risk and that extraordinary circumstances justified his temporary release while his habeas case proceeded.

The federal government has been appealing its case against Kahlil, a green card holder.

Columbia also reached a $200 million agreement with the Trump administration last July, after it threatened to remove federal funding over what it called Columbia’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

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