Trump‑Mamdani talks: Columbia student freed after White House intervention

New York mayor Zohran Mamdani said President Donald Trump agreed to release a Columbia University student detained by ICE after he raised her case during White House discussions.

The undergraduate, Elmina Aghayeva, was arrested Thursday morning when five federal immigration agents entered her Columbia residential building without a warrant, claiming they were searching for a missing child, according to acting university President Claire Shipman.

Mamdani shared on X that Trump had informed him the student would be released “imminently.” Aghayeva confirmed her release in an Instagram post, describing the experience as “complete shock.”

The incident highlights the unusual working relationship between the Republican president and Mamdani, a democratic socialist previously threatened with deportation. A photo posted on X showed the two smiling in the Oval Office.

Shipman called the agents’ method “frightening and fast-moving” and “utterly unacceptable.”

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Aghayeva’s student visa had been terminated in 2016, but she was released while awaiting a hearing. Allegations of agents posing as police remain disputed.

Mamdani urged Trump to drop cases against other students facing deportation.

Columbia students and faculty called for increased safeguards for international students, citing previous detentions like that of Mahmoud Khalil.

Shipman reminded staff not to allow federal agents into buildings without a warrant or subpoena and to contact Public Safety immediately if enforcement activity is observed.

Thursday marked Mamdani’s second visit to the White House, where he and Trump pledged to collaborate on New York housing and safety initiatives, despite their prior political clashes.