NEW YORK — New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani took to social media Sunday to tell the city’s immigrant communities they have the right not to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents — a message coming days after federal agents conducted a raid in Manhattan.
In a video posted online, Mamdani, who will take office Jan. 1, pledged to protect the city’s roughly 3 million immigrants. “We can all stand up to ICE if you know your rights,” he said.
Mamdani outlined the legal protections available to immigrants. He reminded viewers that people in the U.S. can choose not to speak to federal immigration agents, film them as long as they don’t interfere, and refuse their requests to enter private spaces. According to Mamdani, ICE agents cannot enter homes, schools, or private areas of workplaces without a judicial warrant signed by a judge.
“ICE is legally allowed to lie to you, but you have the right to remain silent,” Mamdani said. “If you’re being detained, you may always ask, ‘Am I free to go?’ repeatedly until they answer you.”
His message follows heightened tensions in Manhattan’s Chinatown, where demonstrators gathered last week to protest an ICE operation on Canal Street. A similar sweep in the same neighborhood last October was also met with protests.
“New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support, and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters,” Mamdani said in the video.
The mayor-elect’s statements come weeks after a notably cordial meeting at the Oval Office with President Donald Trump, whose administration has been carrying out federal immigration enforcement operations in cities across the U.S., including a recent sweep in New Orleans.
