Columbia student detained after ICE agents pose as police, later released
Feb 26, 2026·Location: New York, NY
Elmina Aghayeva, a senior at Columbia University's School of General Studies from Azerbaijan, was detained by federal immigration agents inside her university residential building. According to the university's acting president, agents gained entry by falsely claiming to be police searching for a missing child, and university security officers who asked to see a warrant were rebuffed. Aghayeva texted fellow students "Ice is in my house... They are trying to take me away. Can someone help me," and later posted on Instagram asking for help. She filed a habeas corpus petition in the Southern District of New York, and was released after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani raised her case with President Trump, who called to say she would be freed. DHS stated her student visa had been revoked a decade earlier and that she has been placed in removal proceedings.
Sources
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani to meet with President Trump in New York City
CNN·Sep 20, 2026·archived copy
- Who is Elmina Aghayeva? Columbia student released after Mamdani-Trump meet
Newsweek·Feb 26, 2026
- Detained Columbia student released after Mamdani talks with Trump
The Guardian·Feb 26, 2026
- The Hill
- Columbia University Student Released After Mamdani Pushes Trump
notus.org·Feb 26, 2026
- ICE Agents Used Fake Missing Child to Detain Columbia Student
nymag.com·Feb 27, 2026
- Ellie Aghayeva, GS ’26, released from ICE custody, after Mamdani, Trump talks
columbiaspectator.com·Feb 26, 2026
- Columbia student detained by ICE released after Mamdani meeting with President Trump, mayor says
New York Post·Feb 26, 2026
- Columbia U. student Elmina Aghayeva released from ICE custody after Trump, NY mayor meeting
cnbc.com·Feb 26, 2026
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