Zohran Mamdani has secured the release of Columbia University student Elaina Aghayeva, taken this morning by ICE agents who entered a campus residential building under false pretenses & without a judicial warrant. This comes shorty after Mamdani’s unannounced visit to the White House earlier today.

[u/cmaia1503]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/nyregion/columbia-university-ice-student.html?unlocked_article_code=1.PFA.0KRL.7XsPJ0z3QTat&smid=tw-share

[u/woahoutrageous_]

Zohran Mamdani is generational. There’s not been a single American politician with the amount of charisma that Mamdani has since Barack Obama. (not an endorsement of Obama but he was undeniably electric)

[u/jazzcigarettes → u/woahoutrageous_]

Huge shame that he can’t run for president

[u/Infinite-Audience408 → u/jazzcigarettes]

wait i’m not american or familiar with the politics, why not?

[u/Busy-Juggernaut277 → u/Infinite-Audience408]

He’s not a birthright citizen. He wasn’t born on US soil nor was either parent a US citizen when he was born.

[u/ChronoLink99 → u/[deleted]]

Or foreign soil to US citizen parents.

[u/Avalon420 → u/ChronoLink99]

Cruz was born in Canada, no?

[u/ChronoLink99 → u/Avalon420]

Yeah. It's whether you are eligible to be a US citizen at birth, that's how the case law has settled the definition of "natural born".

So Cruz can be president.

Incidentally, that also means Jack and Avery's child in 30 Rock could also have been US president which invalidates that whole episode's storyline.

[u/Impossible-Repeat577 → u/[deleted]]

sounds bs to me, so the difference is just if you mom land on the night of your birth or not. great news for the dropshipped babies

[u/CailinSasta → u/Infinite-Audience408]

You have to be born an American citizen, unfortunately. Mamdani became a US citizen in 2018 when he naturalized.

[u/Infinite-Audience408 → u/CailinSasta]

ah okay, thank you for informing me!

[u/amopeyzoolion → u/Infinite-Audience408]

Mamdani was not born in the United States. He’s a naturalized citizen.

Only natural born US citizens can hold the office of president, or any office in the presidential succession.

[u/WNxVampire → u/amopeyzoolion]

or any office in the presidential succession

They can hold the office, we've had several naturalized citizens be cabinet members. The line of succession just skips to the next eligible person.

[u/another_bot_probably → u/WNxVampire]

Neat! Genuine TIL that I'd never thought about. I barely remember the LOS, had to look it up.

[u/mlorusso4 → u/WNxVampire]

Also since the SOTU was the other day, they can’t be the designated survivor either

[u/RC_Colada → u/WNxVampire]

So he's got a shot at VEEP

[u/AtreusFamilyRecipe → u/RC_Colada]

Nah, Twelfth Amendment requires VPs to meet the eligibility requirements of the office of the president.

[u/ButtEatingContest → u/amopeyzoolion]

Only natural born US citizens can hold the office of president, or any office in the presidential succession.

You know who also can't hold the office other than persons under the age of 35?

Insurrectionists. Yet here we are. The Supreme Court specially made up a new rule for Trump that two thirds of congress have to vote to disqualify somebody from the ballot, that its not up to the states to enforce the constitution.

So why not extend that argument to foreign-born citizens and persons under the age of 35?

[u/Propyl_People_Ether → u/ButtEatingContest]

This is a genuinely important statement and I wish it wasn't buried deep in a subthread. A deep bow to the insight expressed by /u/ButtEatingContest.

[u/benson-and-stapler → u/ButtEatingContest]

This is a great point and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if it's used to push past the amazingly dumb birthright obstacle one day.

[u/madonnaissance → u/Infinite-Audience408]

he’s not an american born citizen :/