On Thursday, in the early hours of February 26, a student studying neuroscience and political science at Columbia University was taken away by federal agents from her dormitory, sparking protests from the university administration. However, later that afternoon, there was a major development in the case as the Mayor of New York City announced that after a direct communication with President Trump, the student was on the verge of being released.
According to an email sent out by Columbia’s acting president Claire Shipman, around 6:30 am on Thursday morning, several federal agents entered the residential building on campus. Shipman mentioned in the email that as per the initial information from the university, these agents falsely claimed to be “searching for missing individuals” in order to bypass campus security and gain access to the apartment.
The detained student was later identified as Elmina Aghayeva from Azerbaijan. She had posted a photo on Instagram from what appeared to be inside a law enforcement vehicle when she was taken away, along with a caption that read, “DHS (Department of Homeland Security) has arrested me unlawfully, please help me.”
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to CNBC that Aghayeva was arrested because her student visa had been terminated back in 2016 during the Obama administration due to “failure to maintain status.”
Fox News reported, citing a DHS spokesperson, that Aghayeva “has not filed any appeal or application with the Department of Homeland Security” and that the agents entered the apartment with the consent of the building administrators and roommates.
However, there was a significant turn of events in the afternoon regarding the arrest. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, after meeting with President Trump on that day, raised the issue of Columbia student Aghayeva’s detention. Later, he posted on X platform that the President informed him that the student is about to be released.
“I just got off the phone with the President,” he said. “During our earlier meeting, I shared my concerns about the arrest of the Columbia University female student, and he immediately notified me that Aghayeva is set to be released.”
Prior to this, Mamdani had a meeting with the President at the White House for about an hour. The main topics of discussion were housing development and cost of living issues in New York City. Mamdani has been critical of Trump’s immigration policies for a long time, and after the meeting, he expressed that the discussion was constructive with both sides committed to resolving the affordability issues for New Yorkers.
The relationship between Columbia University and the Trump administration has been tense. Since Trump’s return to the White House last year, Columbia has been targeted for sanctions several times.
In June 2025, the Department of Education accused Columbia of violating federal anti-discrimination laws and failing to meet certification standards. In the same year in July, Columbia was forced to pay $221 million to the federal government (comprising $200 million and $21 million) to regain access to billions of dollars in research funding that had been cut off by the Trump administration.