Researcher had been seized after making a wrong turn. His detention sparked outrage, Huseynov reports on his return home in a Jan. 31 video posted to his Facebook page. Image from the video. Shovgi Huseynov, the University at Buffalo neuroscientist who was arrested by border agents after making a wrong turn onto the Peace Bridge, has been freed from ICE detention. He was back home with his family in Buffalo as of Saturday, according to a video he posted to his Facebook page. “I want to thank each and every one of you for being concerned and curious about me these past few days, it means a lot,” he said in the video. “I have returned to a normal routine, everything is under control.” Huseynov posted the video in his native Azerbaijani and Investigative Post used an online service to translate. In the video, Huseynov hugs and kisses his two children. While he was away, his son won a swimming championship for 11-year-olds — a “great gift for his father,” Huseynov said — and his daughter video called him each day. “She never let her father be forgotten,” he said. “During this period, I truly saw the great love people have for me, their support for me.” Huseynov, a native of Azerbaijan, was driving in Buffalo on January 7 when he accidentally turned onto the Peace Bridge and crossed into Canada. Upon his return, border agents arrested him, alleging he had overstayed a visa. In fact, his attorney later explained, he had an active immigration case, allowing him to live and work in the country legally. Siana McLean, partner at the immigration law firm Richards Jurusik, said Huseynov’s work authorization is valid through 2029. Still, Huseynov was held at the ICE detention center in Batavia and then at a facility in rural Michigan. He remained there for much of the month. Huseynov was released on a $1,500 bond late last week, the “lowest possible” amount the government charges, McLean told Investigative Post. “As all of my steps, all my actions are within the boundaries of law, I am in my home today, I have returned to my normal job,” Huseynov said in his video. His immigration case remains pending. Since 2022, Huseynov has worked as a researcher at the UB Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, studying ways the brain interacts with the immune system. In that time, he’s contributed to numerous research papers and in November attended a large neuroscience conference in California. One colleague described him as a well-respected, hardworking researcher. In a statement Monday, UB spokesperson John Della Contrada said the university was “very pleased” with an immigration judge’s decision to release Huseynov on bond. “The university will continue to provide appropriate support to Shovgi and his personal attorney as his case proceeds through the federal immigration system,” Della Contrada said. Huseynov’s case sparked outrage among leaders across New York. Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Tim Kennedy, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan all condemned the Trump administration’s decision to arrest and detain him. In remarks at Canisius University last week, Kennedy slammed the Trump administration for targeting law-abiding immigrants and American citizens. “Donald Trump promised us that he was gonna go after the worst of the worst. Remember that? Well, guess what? He lied to us,” Kennedy said. In a statement Monday, Kennedy said he was “thankful” Huseynov had been released, noting that his office had been “in regular contact with leadership at the University at Buffalo to provide guidance and offer any assistance needed.” “He should never have been detained in the first place – his detention is demonstrative of the lawless culture created by [Department of Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem and the Trump Administration,” Kennedy said. “We are lucky that he has returned to our Buffalo community.” Also in response to Huseynov’s case, State Assemblyman Jonathan Rivera and Sen. April Baskin on Friday sent a letter to Eric Meka, the Western New York regional director for the state Department of Transportation, demanding his agency begin working on plans to offer an “escape route” to drivers who mistakenly take the Peace Bridge exit off the Thruway. Doing so is essential, they argued, given the Trump administration’s practice of arresting those who accidentally cross the bridge. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletters In the letter, Rivera and Baskin state they’ve communicated with the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority — the international entity that owns the Peace Bridge. “At a minimum,” the letter states, the DOT must evaluate “near-term solutions, such as a designated pull-over or escape route prior to the inspection plaza,” as well as develop “long-term design changes that eliminate the risk of unintended border crossings altogether.” “While these issues have long posed safety and operational concerns, the current federal administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies have raised the stakes dramatically,” Rivera and Baskin wrote. “A simple driving error can now result in detention, interrogation, or worse. This is an unacceptable risk created not by driver negligence, but by infrastructure design failures.” A DOT spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a statement from Rep. Tim Kennedy. posted 3 months ago - February 2, 2026