New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had a productive meeting with United States President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, discussing issues including housing and the detention by federal immigration agents of a Columbia University student.
It marked the second meeting between the two men since Mamdani's mayoral election win late last year.
Mamdani posted a photo of himself with Trump on social media after the meeting. "I had a productive meeting with President Trump this afternoon. I'm looking forward to building more housing in New York City," Mamdani wrote on X/Twitter.
Mamdani has previously criticized Trump's hardline immigration crackdown, in particular his use of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with the president's policies towards Israel.
While both men have been critical of each other's policy positions in the past and hold radically different worldviews, their previous meeting in November was unexpectedly friendly.
In their first meeting, too, Mamdani and Trump had spoken about bringing down the price of housing. A former real estate developer, Trump showed interest in Mamdani's call for more housing in New York.
Making housing more affordable has been one of Trump's pledges ahead of the midterm elections in late 2026, as prices for housing remain significantly higher than they were a few years ago. Cost of living and affordability were also issues at the heart of Mamdani's mayoral victory.
Trump reiterated his pledge in his State of the Union speech this week and has announced a few policies aimed at addressing the problem.
Columbia student released from ICE custody
Mamdani said he raised concerns with Trump about the detention on Thursday of Columbia University student Elmina Aghayeva from Azerbaijan by ICE, and that Trump later informed him that she will be "released imminently."
After the meeting, the student posted on Instagram that she had been released.
US Department of Homeland Security agents misrepresented themselves as searching for a missing person when they entered a Columbia University residential building early on Thursday and detained a foreign student, the university said.
DHS had said the student, Elmina Aghayeva, was from Azerbaijan and in the US illegally. Aghayeva's lawyers said in a petition filed in Manhattan Federal Court that she was held without justification.
In an early morning message to the university community, Claire Shipman, Columbia's acting president, said: "Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a 'missing person.'"
Shipman added that law enforcement agents need a judicial warrant or subpoena to enter non-public university areas, including housing and classrooms.
DHS said the building manager and Aghayeva's roommate let its agents in. The department denied that agents had misrepresented their intentions.
“ICE arrested Elmina Aghayeva, an illegal alien from Azerbaijan, whose student visa was terminated in 2016 under the Obama administration for failing to attend classes," DHS said.
Aghayeva's lawyers, in a petition filed in Manhattan Federal Court, said she was "wrongly held in detention without justification." She entered the United States in 2016 on a visa and is an undergraduate student at Columbia, her lawyers said.
Manhattan-based US District Judge Katherine Failla said Aghayeva should not be deported without a court order.