NY Mayor Says White House Talks Focused on Housing, Student Detention

Zohran Mamdani described discussions with President Donald Trump as constructive and said a detained Columbia University student would be released following their meeting.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he met Thursday with President Donald Trump at the White House, describing the conversation as “productive” and centered on housing policy and the detention of a Columbia University student.

“I had a productive meeting with President Trump this afternoon,” Mamdani wrote on X, adding that he looks forward to expanding housing construction across the city.

In a subsequent post, Mamdani said he raised the case of Columbia student Elmina Aghayeva, who he said had been detained earlier in the day by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elmina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning,” Mamdani stated. “He has just informed me that she will be released imminently.”

The mayor did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding Aghayeva’s detention or provide details about the basis for ICE’s actions. Federal authorities had not immediately issued a statement confirming her release.

The meeting comes as New York City continues to confront a housing shortage and escalating affordability pressures. Mamdani has prioritized increasing housing supply, arguing that expanded development is necessary to stabilize rents and ease strain on residents.

Trump, who built a career in New York real estate before entering politics, has frequently commented on urban development and has advocated deregulation and private-sector incentives to stimulate construction.

A photograph shared with Mamdani’s post showed the mayor and the president standing side by side. In the image, Trump holds two printed front pages of the New York Daily News—one authentic and one altered.

The authentic front page, dated 1975, features the headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” published after President Gerald Ford declined to provide a federal bailout to New York City during its fiscal crisis.

The second printout displayed a modified headline reading, “Trump to City: Let’s Build.”

The exchange marked a public moment of engagement between City Hall and the White House as both leaders signaled interest in housing policy discussions.