A Columbia University student who was detained by federal immigration agents early Thursday morning was released just hours later, after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani personally raised the matter with President Donald Trump.

The rapid turn of events underscored the mayor’s ability to directly engage the White House on contentious immigration issues, even as he has publicly criticized federal enforcement tactics. What began as a tense and confusing arrest on campus evolved into a high-level political intervention by mid-afternoon.

The situation unfolded shortly after 6 a.m., when five plainclothes immigration officers arrived at a university-owned apartment building housing 29-year-old Columbia undergraduate Ellie Aghayeva. According to a statement issued later that evening by acting Columbia president Claire Shipman, the officers asked the building superintendent to grant them entry, claiming they were police officers searching for a missing child.

Believing the officers’ account, the superintendent allowed them into the building. At Aghayeva’s apartment door, the agents reportedly repeated the same explanation. Shipman said security camera footage showed the agents displaying photographs of what they described as the missing child in order to reinforce their claim.

Once inside the apartment, however, it became clear that the officers were federal immigration agents. A public safety officer from the university soon arrived and requested a judicial warrant. None was presented, Shipman said. She added that the officers declined to wait while the public safety officer contacted a supervisor and instead proceeded to take Aghayeva into custody. Shipman characterized the episode as “utterly unacceptable.”

By 10 a.m., the university had circulated an urgent message to the campus community describing the arrest. The incident quickly drew strong reactions from elected officials across New York. Among them was Governor Kathy Hochul, who condemned the use of deception to enter a student residence and called for an independent investigation.

“No one should disappear at the hands of the government,” Hochul said in a public statement, emphasizing that students should not be removed from dormitories under false pretenses. She urged accountability and signaled that state leaders would not ignore the matter.

Coincidentally, Mayor Mamdani was traveling to Washington that day for a previously scheduled meeting with President Trump to discuss a real estate initiative. During that meeting, the mayor raised Aghayeva’s case directly with the president, expressing concern over her detention.

In a social media post, Mamdani later said he had discussed the arrest with Trump and pressed for her release. Shortly after 3 p.m., the mayor reported that the White House had informed him the student would be freed. Around 3:45 p.m., Aghayeva confirmed on Instagram that she had been released, thanking supporters for their help.

Court records show that earlier in the day, her attorney had filed an emergency petition in Manhattan federal court seeking her immediate release. Columbia University subsequently posted that it was relieved by the outcome and pleased that its student was no longer in detention.

The arrest disrupted what had been a relatively calm period on Columbia’s campus. It also marked the first reported entry by immigration officers into one of the university’s residential buildings in nearly a year. In March 2025, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia student who had completed his coursework and was nearing graduation, was detained in the lobby of a university-owned apartment building. His case remains unresolved, though he was later released on bail.

In a statement responding to Thursday’s events, the Department of Homeland Security said Aghayeva’s student visa had been terminated in 2016 during the administration of former President Barack Obama because she allegedly failed to attend classes. The department disputed the university’s description of events, asserting that its officers verbally identified themselves and wore badges. It said that the building manager and Aghayeva’s roommate allowed them into the apartment.

Describing Aghayeva as an “illegal alien,” the department said her deportation case remains active and that she has been placed in removal proceedings. Officials added that she has been released while awaiting a hearing.

Friends of Aghayeva, who is known as Ellie, described her as a senior in Columbia’s School of General Studies, majoring in neuroscience and political science. The School of General Studies serves nontraditional undergraduates, many of whom are older than typical college students.

Word of her detention spread quickly after she posted a photograph on Instagram from the back of a vehicle, captioned: “Dhs illegally arrested me. Please help.” With more than 100,000 followers, her message circulated widely. Within hours, students and supporters organized a rally outside Columbia’s gates on Broadway, drawing approximately 200 participants.

Delfina Roybal, a fellow senior, said at the demonstration that Aghayeva had conducted impressive academic research and was close to completing her degree. She described it as unsettling to imagine her classmate sitting in a detention cell just weeks before graduation.

Public records indicate that Aghayeva, originally from Azerbaijan, has lived in the United States since at least 2016, including time in Connecticut and North Carolina before relocating to New York for her studies. In 2020, she married Garrett Blackburn, a U.S. citizen residing in North Carolina. The couple later separated and are no longer in regular contact.

Columbia’s policies require that law enforcement officers present a judicial warrant before accessing private campus spaces such as dormitories and classrooms. According to university officials, no such warrant was shown in this instance.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal alleged on social media that the agents displayed a fabricated missing-person bulletin and used counterfeit badges to gain entry, calling the situation a serious civil rights violation.

Other Columbia-related immigration cases have not concluded as swiftly. In April 2025, Mohsen Mahdawi was detained during a citizenship interview in Vermont; an immigration judge recently blocked his deportation. Another student, Ranjani Srinivasan of India, left for Canada after federal agents reportedly appeared at her campus residence searching for her. Immigration officials also sought access to university housing in connection with Yunseo Chung last year.

At the White House meeting, Mayor Mamdani reportedly provided a list of four additional individuals detained in New York — including Khalil, Chung, Mahdawi and Leqaa Kordia — to the president and to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, asking for assistance in resolving their cases.

In response to the latest incident, Columbia announced new protocols intended to prevent similar situations. Building staff are no longer permitted to admit law enforcement officers into residential facilities without the presence of university public safety personnel and consultation with the institution’s legal office.

At Thursday’s rally, students and faculty held signs reading “Abolish ICE” and “Immigrants Are New York.” Participants called for stronger protections from the university and criticized what they described as increasingly aggressive enforcement tactics.

The episode has reignited debate over the role of federal immigration authorities on college campuses and the responsibilities of universities to safeguard their students. While Aghayeva’s release brought immediate relief, broader questions about due process, campus access and federal enforcement remain unresolved, leaving Columbia and other institutions navigating a fraught legal and political landscape.