NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA — Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order on February 6, 2026, prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from entering New York City properties without a judicial warrant.

Mamdani announced the executive order at the city’s first annual interfaith breakfast at the New York Public Library, casting it as a move that “reaffirms and strengthens NYC’s sanctuary laws” and draws clearer lines for city workers.

City Hall said the order explicitly bars ICE from city-owned spaces without a judge-signed warrant, covering locations tied to public services, including parking garages, parking lots, schools, shelters and hospitals, as well as other public areas.

“We will make clear once again that ICE will not be able to enter New York City property without a judicial warrant.”

Inside city government, the order directs each city agency to appoint a privacy officer within two weeks and requires staff training on sanctuary protections that limit information sharing with federal immigration authorities.

Agencies must certify compliance and audit interactions with federal immigration authorities, City Hall said, and the order creates a new interagency response committee for major enforcement actions.

Mamdani’s administration framed those steps around protecting residents’ personal data, arguing that stronger safeguards are meant to help immigrants feel safe using city services such as child care and health care.

The Department of Homeland Security condemned the order, with Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin saying it “will make New Yorkers less safe as a direct result of this policy.”

McLaughlin cited 7,113 undocumented immigrants in New York State custody with active federal detainers, charged with 148 homicides, 717 assaults, 134 burglaries, 106 robberies, 235 dangerous drug offenses, 152 weapons offenses, and 260 sexual predatory offenses.

“Secretary Noem and ICE leadership are urgently calling on Mamdani to agree to release criminals in New York City’s custody to ICE before they are released back onto the Big Apple’s streets to victimize and prey on more Americans,”

Mamdani answered the criticism by describing ICE as “more than a rogue agency; it is a manifestation of the abuse of power,” adding, “There is no reforming something so rotten and base.”

He argued the approach still rests on a public-safety rationale. “These are policies that are motivated by delivering public safety, not in spite of public safety,” Mamdani said.

Friday’s executive order lands after years of political and legal fights in New York City over when, and under what circumstances, ICE should have access to city facilities and the people inside them.

Under former Mayor Eric Adams, a February 2025 memo to migrant shelter operators allowed ICE entry without a warrant if workers felt “reasonably threatened or fear for your safety,” a policy later clarified on February 10 amid backlash.

Adams’ administration also drew sustained controversy over steps aimed at expanding federal access to city jails, including Executive Order 50 issued April 8, 2025, by First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro to invite ICE onto Rikers Island.

The City Council sued to block that order as unlawful, and it was tied to a quid pro quo in Adams’ dismissed federal corruption case.

Mamdani, sworn in January 1, 2026, did not renew certain Adams orders, City Hall said in announcing the new executive action.

The move also comes against the backdrop of a federal court ruling that upheld New York’s limits on federal immigration enforcement, a November 17, 2025, decision by District Judge Mae D’Agostino in United States v. State of New York.

In announcing the order, Mamdani also outlined a public outreach component aimed at daily interactions between immigrant New Yorkers and city institutions, including schools, health care providers and shelter systems.

His administration said it will distribute 30,000 multilingual “Know Your Rights” guides through faith leaders, presenting the effort as a way to increase awareness and help residents feel safer accessing city services while understanding how to respond during enforcement encounters.

City Hall’s announcement connected that outreach to the executive order’s privacy focus, describing the protections as part of an effort to preserve access to city services by limiting information-sharing pathways that could deter residents from seeking help.

The executive order’s warrant requirement, as described by the mayor, centers on entry to New York City property, and Mamdani used his remarks to frame the policy as both a legal boundary for city workers and a message about how his administration views federal immigration enforcement on local ground.

“We will make clear once again that ICE will not be able to enter New York City property without a judicial warrant,”

Mamdani paired that message with broader condemnation of the agency’s conduct and role. “More than a rogue agency; it is a manifestation of the abuse of power,” he said, adding, “There is no reforming something so rotten and base.”

He closed his public case for the order by returning to the administration’s central claim that the policy advances safety rather than undermining it. “These are policies that are motivated by delivering public safety, not in spite of public safety,” Mamdani said.