Mamdani Meets Trump: Secures Student Release, Pursues $21B Housing Plan

Mayor Zohran Mamdani meets with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office (Twitter)

WASHINGTON — Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with President Donald Trump on February 26 to pursue a $21 billion federal investment to advance housing justice in New York City, while also securing the release of a Columbia University student detained by federal immigration authorities earlier that day.

The mayor’s proposal would enable the development of 12,000 new affordable homes, including 6,000 Mitchell-Lama-style units for middle- and working-class families. The plan also projects 30,000 union jobs and new public infrastructure, including parks, schools, and health care facilities. If realized, it would represent the largest housing and infrastructure investment in New York City in more than 50 years.

Mayor Mamdani framed the project as a structural response to the city’s affordability crisis, emphasizing strengthened financing tools, preservation of public housing, and streamlined regulatory pathways that maintain labor standards and community oversight. Both sides agreed to continue discussions in the coming weeks.

During the same visit, the mayor raised the case of Elmina Aghayeva, a Columbia University student detained earlier that day by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She was released soon after the meeting.

The meeting combined large-scale affordable infrastructure negotiations with a direct intervention on an individual New Yorker’s human rights — signaling the Mamdani administration’s dual focus on economic justice and civil liberties.

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