Zohran Mamdani, a far-left Democrat and self-described socialist, shocked New York City on Tuesday by winning the Democratic mayoral primary, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. Mamdani, born in Uganda and an open advocate of sanctuary city policies, has pledged to go even further—vowing to prevent the NYPD from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), even in cases involving violent criminal illegal aliens.
Mamdani’s victory signals a sharp left turn for New York City’s Democratic Party. His campaign embraced radical immigration policies, with a clear promise to expand protections for illegal immigrants—regardless of criminal history. In a published questionnaire with The City, Mamdani explicitly stated his goal to restrict all NYPD and Department of Correction cooperation with ICE.
Under current law, the NYPD can only turn over illegal immigrants to federal agents if they’ve been convicted of specific violent crimes. Mamdani wants to eliminate even that exception. “We should strengthen our sanctuary city laws,” he said, labeling cooperation with ICE as a “moral stain.”
Mamdani’s statements reveal an intent to block all city-federal coordination on immigration enforcement. He referred to the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration as a “war on the First Amendment” and pledged to use “every tool” to fight back.
Public safety concerns have grown in response to such policies. Several high-profile crimes in the city involved illegal immigrants shielded by sanctuary laws. In one case, a previously deported illegal alien was accused of murdering a woman by setting her on fire in a city subway. In another, an illegal alien was charged with raping a 13-year-old girl in broad daylight in Queens.
Despite these incidents, Mamdani insists he will not back down. “There is no option of surrender,” he told The Guardian, signaling an adversarial stance against federal immigration law enforcement.
If elected, Mamdani would likely transform New York City into an even more extreme sanctuary jurisdiction, further alienating law enforcement and undermining federal efforts to remove dangerous criminals from U.S. streets.
