Student Freed From ICE Detention After Mamdani Intervenes
He raised her case with Trump.
by Joshua Carroll
2 March 2026
A student abducted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been released after New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani brought up her case in a meeting with Donald Trump.
Elmina Aghayeva was detained at a Columbia University-owned residence early on Thursday morning. Immigration agents gained access to the building “without any kind of warrant” by pretending to be searching for a missing 5-year-old child, the university said.
The same day, Mamdani had a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, and then later a phone call.
“Just got off the phone with President Trump,” he posted on X. “In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elmina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning. He has just informed me that she will be released imminently.”
Aghayeva, who is from Azerbaijan, was freed shortly afterwards, having spent around 10 hours in ICE custody.
In the meeting with Trump, Mamdani also requested that four other cases in New York be dropped – those of Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi, and Leqaa Kordia.
All four were detained after protesting against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Joshua Carroll is a writer and journalist.