NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani posted a video on social media on Sunday explaining immigrants’ right to refuse to speak to or comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, days after federal agents conducted a raid in Manhattan.
In the video, Mamdani vowed to protect the city’s 3 million immigrants, saying: “We can all stand up to ICE if you know your rights.”
He explained that Americans can choose not to talk to federal immigration officials, photograph them without interference and deny their requests to enter private spaces. ICE agents are not allowed to enter spaces such as homes, schools or private areas of a workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge, Mamdani said.
“The law allows ICE to lie to you, but you have the right to remain silent. If you are detained, you may always ask, ‘Can I leave?’ and keep repeating it until they answer you,” said Mamdani, who will be sworn in as mayor on January 1.
His comments came a week after demonstrators gathered as ICE attempted to detain people on Canal Street near New York’s Chinatown. A similar immigration sweep in the same neighborhood last October was met with protests.
“New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight every day to protect, support and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters,” Mamdani said in a video on Sunday.
Mamdani had a surprisingly cordial meeting in the Oval Office weeks ago with President Donald Trump, whose administration is launching federal immigration enforcement operations in several U.S. cities, most recently in New Orleans.