On the long list of unjustified actions by ICE, Donald Trump’s immigration police — among others, that of the arrest of a five-year-old boy in Minneapolis or the deportation order handed down to an Iranian woman adopted in the U.S. half a century ago — perhaps few stand out as much, due to their absurdity, as the arrest of Elmina Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani student of neuroscience and politics at Columbia, who in the early hours of February 26 was taken from the campus residence where she lives by federal agents.
The first indication of the inexplicable arrest was a post by the 29-year-old on Instagram just half an hour after the operation, with a photograph that showed her in the back of the vehicle in which ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents had put her.
Several factors immediately cast doubts over Aghayeva’s arrest, not just her quick social media post. First, there was the relatively long period without student arrests on campuses after the pro-Palestinian protests that swept the U.S. in the spring of 2024 and the subsequent crackdown by the Trump administration against their leaders. But even more suspicious was the young woman’s profile: an influencer specializing in lifestyle, beauty, and study techniques who had never written a single word on social media about the Gaza war or in defense of the Palestinian cause. Unlike activist Mahmoud Khalil, arrested as part of the government crackdown on campuses a year ago, and the dozen or so students who followed him, Aghayeva, with 114,000 Instagram followers, had never taken a political stance.
The third clue that definitively confirmed it had been a mistake — or perhaps just overzealousness — was her release a few hours later, through the intervention of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who spoke to Trump, with whom he had coincidentally met that same morning. Khalil, on the other hand, remained in an ICE detention center for three months and is still fighting in court against the deportation order against him for leading the protests on the Columbia campus.
Aghayeva’s social media posts show the young woman studying in a white blouse and a light brown sweater draped over her shoulders, perfectly made up; her morning routines and study habits, dressed in trendy sportswear, at Pilates or hairdressing sessions, or in elegant outfits in the university library. Her esthetic, in keeping with her age, reflects the strong emphasis on body image and beauty common among so many women in the post-Soviet sphere. She also offers advice on managing the stress of being a university student and strategies for optimizing focus on notes.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, confirmed the arrest of Aghayeva, an undocumented immigrant from Azerbaijan whose student visa was revoked in 2016 under the Obama administration for non-attendance. The statement also confirmed that Aghayeva had no pending appeals or requests from DHS. The federal agency struggled to defend itself against accusations that it had gained entry to the campus under the pretext of searching for a missing person. “The building manager [where Aghayeva lives] and her roommate allowed agents into the apartment,” the statement asserted, refuting the alleged ruse. While campuses are theoretically inviolable, law enforcement agencies must present a court-ordered search warrant to access them.
The irregularities surrounding her arrest didn’t weigh as heavily, however, as Aghayeva’s public persona — “Ellie” to her friends, whom many readily call a campus socialite. Very much in her role as a nonchalant celebrity — it’s unclear whether the former precedes the latter, or has to be the other way around to succeed on social media — the young woman posted a message on Instagram complaining about the numerous interview requests she’s received and rejected, while simultaneously capitalizing on the situation with a dozen posts denouncing the arrest, which have boosted her influencer status.
According to immigration records, Aghayeva has lived in the United States since at least 2016. Before enrolling at Columbia and moving to New York, she lived in Connecticut and North Carolina with her then-husband. The couple separated a few years ago and have no contact, her ex-husband, who is American, told the press.
In the old residential building where Aghayeva lives, five blocks up from Columbia’s main campus, no one appeared to know her this Wednesday: the mere mention of her name made students quicken their pace as they entered and left the dormitory, whose lintel pompously reads King’s College (and has nothing to do with the real one in London). From there, she was taken, shortly after 6:00 a.m. on February 26, to an ICE facility in Lower Manhattan. Her followers learned of the event almost in real time: “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help,” the young woman wrote on Instagram.
After being released hours later, she posted the following: “Just got out a little while ago. I’m safe and okay in an Uber on the way back home. I’m so sorry I am in complete shock over what happened… I need some time to process everything. I’ll be back soon. But please don’t worry. I love you all.”
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