Zohran Mamdani on ICE and Immigration: Sanctuary City Policy

(NEW YORK CITY) Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani vowed to block federal immigration crackdowns in the nation’s largest city, escalating a public confrontation with President Donald Trump over potential ICE raids and mass deportations. In a series of statements since his upset victory in the Democratic primary, Mamdani has promised to cut off cooperation between the New York Police Department and federal immigration authorities for civil immigration enforcement and to defend immigrant neighborhoods against what he describes as political intimidation, not public safety.

Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and former state assemblymember who rose to prominence after defeating Andrew Cuomo, has positioned New York as a test case for how far a city can go in resisting federal immigration enforcement. He has repeatedly pledged to “stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors,” a refrain that has drawn sharp reactions from the White House and energized supporters in immigrant-heavy boroughs. After President Trump threatened to have him arrested for defying federal orders, Mamdani fired back,

“Trump had threatened to arrest me not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city.”

He called the president’s words “an attack on our democracy” and “intimidation,” adding, “His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation.”

In his victory speech after the election, Mamdani addressed Trump directly with a warning that underscored the stakes for the city’s more than three million foreign-born residents.

“Trump, I know you’re watching. If you want to touch any of us, you’ll have to face all of us,”

he said, casting the looming fight over deportations as a citywide stand. The incoming mayor’s remarks were cheered by advocates who have watched federal enforcement surge in past years and who fear new waves of arrests. His message also signaled that New York’s sanctuary city rules—local laws that limit cooperation with immigration authorities—will not only remain intact but could be strengthened under his leadership.

In an interview with ABC, Mamdani argued that the federal posture is not about crime or safety.

“Trump’s threats are unavoidable. This issue has nothing to do with safety and is related to threats,”

he said. He added that if the president’s focus were truly on crime, “he would have threatened to deploy state defense forces to the top 10 states with the highest crime rates, eight of which are led by the Republican Party,” suggesting the promised crackdown is a political show of force. That framing captures how Mamdani is seeking to define the fight: not as a legal tug-of-war over jurisdiction, but as a contest over who speaks for New York’s communities and whose fear counts in policy decisions.

The practical contours of his policy emerged more sharply in a CNN appearance after an ICE raid on Canal Street.

“The first thing that you do is you close the door that Eric Adams opened to the NYPD doing civil immigration enforcement,”

Mamdani said, promising an immediate reversal of what he portrays as a recent expansion of NYPD involvement in immigration.

“You would not allow the New York Police Department to engage or to cooperate with ICE or DHS. Not in civil immigration enforcement. We have sanctuary city laws where we’ve been very, very clear that for a set of serious crimes there is coordination with the federal administration. But anything beyond that… that is something for the NYPD to focus on purely right here in New York,”

he said. By drawing that line, Mamdani signaled he will lean on existing protections while closing off discretionary channels that can lead to arrests when people interact with city services or police.

The mayor-elect’s stance directly challenges the role of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, which executes immigration arrests and removals nationwide. For immigrants and mixed-status families in neighborhoods from Jackson Heights to Sunset Park, the threat of early morning knocks and street arrests is not abstract. Mamdani has sought to turn that anxiety into a policy mandate, telling supporters that the city will not help federal agents on civil matters like deportations based only on immigration status or overstays. His insistence on drawing a bright line between criminal and civil enforcement tracks the city’s sanctuary system, which allows coordination with federal authorities only for a defined list of serious crimes. For many residents, that distinction determines whether a traffic stop or a courthouse visit could end in detention and removal.

Trump’s response has been personal and public. He has attacked Mamdani repeatedly, calling him “a 100% Communist lunatic,” and has floated using state defense forces and withholding federal funding to force compliance from New York City. The president also falsely suggested Mamdani is in the country illegally. In fact, the mayor-elect was born in Uganda, moved to the United States at age 7, and became a naturalized citizen in 2018. Those biographical details have become part of his argument that he represents the city’s immigrant story as much as its political future, and they have fed a national spotlight on the clash. With immigration back at the center of national politics, the rhetoric underscores how closely the debate is tied to identity and power.

The Canal Street raid referenced by Mamdani served as a flashpoint. Although the details of the operation were not disclosed by the mayor-elect, he used the event to underscore how the presence of federal agents in busy commercial areas affects daily life. Canal Street, known for dense foot traffic and small businesses, sits at the intersection of tourism, street vending, and immigrant entrepreneurship. It is in places like these that his promise to bar NYPD cooperation with ICE for civil immigration enforcement would be felt most, whether at sidewalk vendor interactions, business inspections, or policing subway entrances. His claim that a previous administration “opened” a door to such enforcement suggests he intends to close pathways that allow information-sharing or joint operations that can sweep up people for civil violations unrelated to local crime.

At the core of the debate is the reach of federal authority versus local control. Under federal law, ICE can conduct immigration enforcement nationwide. Cities cannot stop federal agents from making arrests, but they can set their own policies for how local departments respond to requests, share data, or participate in operations. Mamdani’s pledge to wall off the NYPD from ICE on civil matters would test the limits of that approach. It would also require precise policy instructions to police commanders, prosecutors, and city agencies, especially in situations where local and federal objectives intersect—like gang investigations, human trafficking cases, or detainers lodged against people in local custody. The mayor-elect has emphasized that New York’s existing sanctuary rules already draw these lines, and he has promised to maintain coordination for a specific set of serious crimes while refusing to expand cooperation beyond those categories.

Immigrant communities will be watching how this translates into on-the-ground procedures. For a day laborer on a Brooklyn construction site or a Queens delivery worker, the difference between a city that assists immigration enforcement and one that does not can shape daily routines and risk. Advocates argue that when trust weakens, people are less likely to report crimes, testify in court, or seek help from city agencies. Mamdani’s argument—that Trump’s push is about politics rather than safety—aims to link public confidence to the city’s stance on ICE. By describing federal threats as intimidation, he is urging residents not to retreat into silence. His declaration that “we will not accept this intimidation” ties policy to morale, attempting to reassure people who fear being singled out.

Mamdani’s position also sets up legal and political tests. A push from the White House to tie funding to immigration cooperation would almost certainly trigger lawsuits, and city officials would have to weigh the risks to services that depend on federal dollars. The mayor-elect’s framing suggests he is prepared for that fight, painting it as a struggle for the city’s autonomy and the rights of its residents. While he has not outlined the contours of potential litigation, his repeated statements about democracy and intimidation show he intends to challenge the premise that federal authority can compel local police to assist with civil immigration duties. That conflict, if it unfolds, could echo legal battles from past administrations over public safety grants and compliance conditions.

The political backdrop has turned Mamdani into a national figure. His win over Cuomo signaled a shift in the Democratic Party’s urban coalitions, bringing a candidate with a blunt message on immigration and social justice into City Hall. The debate over deportations has followed him into office preparation, with interviews on ABC and CNN amplifying his stance.

“Trump, I know you’re watching. If you want to touch any of us, you’ll have to face all of us,”

he said in his victory speech—a line designed to endure as both threat and promise. It also works as a rallying cry for city lawmakers who back sanctuary policies and for neighborhood groups that provide legal clinics, know-your-rights trainings, and rapid-response hotlines.

For federal officials, New York’s approach will matter beyond city limits. ICE operates field offices across the United States and relies on cooperation to identify and detain people subject to removal orders. The agency’s critics accuse it of aggressive tactics in homes and public spaces, while supporters say enforcement is necessary to uphold federal law. The mayor-elect’s vow to cut off assistance for civil immigration enforcement puts New York on a collision course with those priorities. Anyone seeking information about how the agency describes its mission and procedures can consult U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though Mamdani’s point is that New York will not serve as an auxiliary force for civil deportations. That is the crux of his separation strategy.

Trump’s comments have kept the confrontation in the headlines. By branding Mamdani “a 100% Communist lunatic” and threatening to deploy state defense forces or hold back federal funds, the president has raised the costs of resistance—politically and potentially financially. Mamdani, who became a U.S. citizen in 2018 after arriving from Uganda as a child, has responded by highlighting his own path to citizenship and placing immigrants at the center of the city’s identity. The “attack on our democracy,” as he called it, is not simply the threat against his office, he argues, but the warning sent to “every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows.” That language connects a personal dispute to millions who fear deportations and the ripple effects on households, schools, businesses, and places of worship.

The question now is how quickly policies will shift once Mamdani takes office and how federal agencies adjust to a less cooperative environment. He has already laid out the first move—reversing what he calls the “door” opened to NYPD involvement in civil immigration enforcement under Eric Adams. He has been explicit about the limits of cooperation:

“Not in civil immigration enforcement,”

he told CNN, while affirming that coordination for a “set of serious crimes” remains part of New York’s approach. Those distinctions will guide training materials, responses to detainer requests, and protocols for sharing fingerprints and booking information. They will also influence how people interact with city institutions, from public hospitals to schools and shelters, where fear of encounters with ICE can deter people from seeking care or support.

For now, Mamdani is staking his mandate on the promise that New York will stand between its residents and federal deportations that do not stem from serious criminal convictions. The imagery of “masked ICE agents” and the insistence that the city will “stop” them from deporting “our neighbors” are designed to set expectations early. That approach aligns with the political moment that swept him to City Hall: a coalition that wants a harder line against federal encroachment and a clearer affirmation that the city is a sanctuary in practice, not just on paper. Whether that stance endures in the face of court orders, funding disputes, and federal operations remains to be seen, but the mayor-elect has chosen clarity over hedging.

In the coming weeks, immigrant New Yorkers will look for signals in daily life: whether police avoid joint operations that could lead to civil arrests, whether city agencies reassure clients about data privacy, whether legal service providers see a change in the kinds of detainers issued after local arrests. Mamdani has already drawn his blueprint in public.

“If you want to touch any of us, you’ll have to face all of us,”

he said, tying his fate to the neighborhoods now bracing for renewed enforcement. With deportations back at the center of national politics, and with ICE visible in high-traffic areas like Canal Street, New York’s next chapter will test both the reach of the federal government and the resolve of City Hall. The mayor-elect has made it plain how he intends to meet that test: by shutting the door on NYPD cooperation for civil immigration enforcement and by telling residents that the city will not yield to intimidation.