A university student in New York was released from custody after federal immigration agents allegedly posing as local police arrested her.
According to a local official, agents wore "fake badges" to disguise themselves as New York Police Department (NYPD) officers to access a student residence at Columbia University.
Columbia student and online influencer Elmina Aghayeva was detained but later released after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a personal appeal to President Donald Trump, according to the mayor.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denies that agents misrepresented themselves as NYPD officers.
The arrest on Thursday morning took place at a residence owned by Columbia University, according to university president Claire Shipman.
