By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared Thursday, Nov. 5, that opposition to federal immigration enforcement is gaining support across the United States, pointing to Democrat victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections as evidence that policies adopted by his administration are resonating beyond New York City.
During an appearance on MS NOW’s Morning Joe, Mamdani defended his administration’s refusal to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on civil immigration matters and described efforts to prevent federal agents from using municipal property to conduct enforcement operations.
“What you’re seeing from Americans across the country is that the very politics we were told could only succeed in New York City is actually succeeding from Astoria to Albuquerque to Allentown, across this country,” Mamdani said during the televised interview.
The mayor’s remarks followed an election in which Democrats made substantial gains, while immigration enforcement and the Trump administration’s deportation policies became major campaign issues.
Co-host Willie Geist cited voter concerns about ICE, saying three-quarters of voters surveyed considered the agency’s conduct and the administration’s deportation policies important factors in their decisions.
Geist asked how Mamdani had managed relations among ICE, the New York Police Department and the federal government while avoiding some of the confrontations reported elsewhere.
Mamdani described an ongoing disagreement with Washington over immigration enforcement.
“Well, I think it continues to be a tension with federal policy, because we’ve made clear to them that we are never going to assist them in civil immigration enforcement. We are not going to be a part of a deportation agenda in the way that they’ve built this administration,” Mamdani said.
He explained that the city has adopted executive orders intended to prevent municipal agencies and property from being used to support federal civil immigration operations.
The dispute intensified Nov. 2, when Mamdani demanded that ICE stop using city-owned parking lots as staging areas for immigration enforcement.
According to the mayor’s official announcement, federal agents had reportedly parked vehicles and conducted operational meetings at municipal lots near Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.
The Queens locations include parking areas near a city-operated preschool and cultural institutions visited by families and children.
Mamdani sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Acting ICE Director David J. Venturella and ICE New York Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo, demanding that the agency stop using those locations without authorization.
The mayor also warned that the city could pursue legal action if federal agents continued using municipal property in violation of local restrictions.
The administration has strengthened procedures governing access to Parks Department facilities under Executive Order 13, which addresses interactions between city agencies and federal immigration authorities.
Those restrictions generally apply to city resources and municipal cooperation rather than preventing federal authorities from independently enforcing immigration laws.
Mamdani has separately urged private property owners to deny ICE permission to use parking garages and lots as staging grounds.
In an Oct. 16 announcement, the mayor joined more than 100 elected officials in asking parking facility operators across New York City to stop making their properties available for immigration operations.
The appeal followed an ICE-related shooting in the Marble Hill neighborhood in which a man was wounded while his 5-year-old son was inside the same vehicle.
Mamdani referenced that incident during Thursday’s interview, accusing federal agents of using excessive force.
“And we’re also letting businesses know, who own parking lots, that we want them to stop letting those parking lots be the site of where ICE is staging their locations and staging their enforcement, because, again, what we’re talking about is a federal agency that is willing to open fire on a moving car in broad daylight right after school’s let out, right?” he said.
“They’re willing to shoot at somebody, despite the fact that there’s a five-year-old child in that same car.”
The Department of Homeland Security has disputed the city’s position that federal agents are prohibited from using public parking areas.
In a statement reported by ABC7 New York, DHS maintained that ICE’s presence in public parking lots is lawful and consistent with routine law enforcement practices.
The department also criticized Mamdani’s immigration policies, arguing that local officials should cooperate with federal authorities in apprehending individuals accused or convicted of crimes.
The disagreement reflects a broader conflict between the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement priorities and sanctuary policies adopted by New York City.
Federal officials maintain that immigration enforcement is necessary to uphold federal law and protect public safety. Mamdani argues that involving city personnel and facilities in civil deportation operations would undermine trust between immigrant communities and local government.
His administration has sought to maintain that distinction while continuing to operate the NYPD and other municipal public safety agencies.
During Thursday’s interview, Mamdani connected the dispute to broader voter dissatisfaction with national political leadership and household economic pressures.
“And what we’re seeing is that working-class Americans are tired of a corruption of their politics and a corruption of their prices,” he said.
The mayor’s interpretation of Tuesday’s election results reflects his political assessment rather than a definitive measure of nationwide support for New York City’s immigration policies.
Although immigration enforcement featured prominently in several campaigns, election outcomes also reflected concerns involving economic conditions, health care, government spending and other issues.
Mamdani’s comments nevertheless indicate that he intends to continue challenging federal immigration enforcement while presenting New York City’s approach as a model for other communities.
With Democrats preparing to assume congressional majorities in January, immigration policy is expected to remain a major point of disagreement between the White House and its political opponents.
For now, Mamdani has maintained that New York City will not participate in federal civil immigration enforcement and will seek to prevent ICE from using municipal property for operations that the administration considers unauthorized.
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