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Akbar Novruz

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An Azerbaijani student detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States has been released following a meeting between New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. President Donald Trump, AzerNEWS reports via The City.

According to the publication, the issue was raised during a meeting at the White House, where the mayor asked the president to release a Columbia University student who had been detained by ICE agents in his dormitory on the morning of February 26. Mamdani said that the president gave an order for her release.

Azerbaijani national Elmina Agayeva, an undergraduate student studying neurology and political science, later confirmed her release on Instagram. She wrote that ICE released her shortly before 4 a.m., and that she returned by taxi to the Morningside Heights campus.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m still in shock from what happened…,” she wrote on her Instagram story.

According to the city administration, Mamdani also handed Trump the names of four other migrant students whom the administration reportedly intends to deport over criticism of Israel, and asked that deportation proceedings be halted. It remains unclear how the president responded to that appeal.

Agayeva’s detention early Thursday sparked unrest on the Columbia campus. The university’s security service allowed officers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the dormitory without a warrant, prompting spontaneous protests by faculty members and students.

Columbia’s acting president, Claire Shipman, stated that the agents did not properly identify themselves and allegedly claimed they were investigating a missing person case in order to gain entry.

A DHS spokesperson denied the allegation, saying: “The investigators identified themselves verbally, and their IDs were clearly visible around their necks.”

No further comment was issued by DHS following Agayeva’s release.

Mamdani’s spokesman, Joe Calvello, said Trump called him shortly after the mayor left the White House and indicated that the detained student would be released in the morning. The identities of the other students and whether they remain in custody were not disclosed.

The City reported that one of the other detainees is Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil. Two others reportedly did not study at Columbia and were detained during campus protests in 2024.