Mamdani Presses Trump on Housing, Wins Release of Columbia Student
Mamdani met Trump, seeking federal backing for a 12,000-home Sunnyside Yard plan and secured the release of Columbia student Elmina Aghayeva after her detention.
Overview
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday and secured Trump's agreement to release Columbia student Elmina Aghayeva, who was released shortly after, Mamdani said.
Federal agents detained Elmina Aghayeva at Columbia housing on Thursday after allegedly gaining entry by claiming they were searching for a missing person, acting Columbia president Claire Shipman said.
The Department of Homeland Security said Homeland Security Investigations agents verbally identified themselves, wore visible badges and did not impersonate NYPD, and said Aghayeva's student visa was terminated in 2016.
Mamdani pitched building roughly 12,000 affordable homes at Sunnyside Yard backed by more than $21 billion in federal grants, a project his office said could create 30,000 jobs.
Of the four students Mamdani named, only Leqaa Kordia remains in custody while the others have been released, and their cases are proceeding through the courts.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the meeting as an unexpectedly cordial, results-focused encounter, highlighting Trump's 'enthusiastic' response and Mamdani's mock newspaper prop while pairing the housing pitch with a detained student's prompt release. Language, source selection, and structural emphasis privilege bipartisan cooperation and tangible outcomes; critical Republican skepticism is downplayed.
Sources (30)
FAQ
Elmina Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani student at Columbia University, was detained because her student visa was revoked in 2016 for failing to attend classes.
ICE agents allegedly used a ruse claiming to search for a missing person and misrepresented themselves to gain entry, though DHS claims they verbally identified themselves and wore visible badges without posing as NYPD.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani pressed President Donald Trump during a White House meeting, after which Trump informed Mamdani that Aghayeva would be released immediately; she was freed later that Thursday afternoon.
Columbia's acting president Claire Shipman condemned the misrepresentations, announced safety patrols and webinars on immigration policy; New York officials including Mayor Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul, and city council members denounced the operation and called for protections against ICE in sensitive locations.
Mayor Mamdani provided a list of four other detained students: Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi, and Leqaa Kordia.
History
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