Zohran Mamdani hasn't even been sworn in yet and is already priming his activist base to tear up New York City, using the arrest and deportation of illegal aliens as an excuse to riot.
Mamdani released a video last week about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions that came close to inciting violence. It's a tactic that has been used in Los Angeles, Chicago, and other major cities that have been targets of the Trump administration's enforcement blitz.
The theme of the video is "Know Your Rights." That's fine, as far as it goes. ICE cannot enter your home without a warrant.
"First, ICE cannot enter into private spaces like your home, school or private area of your workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge," Mamdani advised. "If ICE does not have a judicial warrant signed by a judge, you have the right to say, ‘I do not consent to entry' and the right to keep your door closed.’"
He noted that ICE may present paperwork claiming authority to make an arrest but said "that is false." If a judge signs the paperwork, and it says "WARRANT" at the top, it gives ICE all the authority it needs. Sowing fear and confusion is de riguer for left-wing agitation.
"ICE is legally allowed to lie to you, but you have the right to remain silent," the mayor-elect said. "If you're being detained, you may always ask, ‘Am I free to go?’ repeatedly until they answer you."
Yes, yes, and yes. None of that is controversial at all. It's plain language, the U.S. Constitution. However, it's not so much his rehash of rights when dealing with ICE that's the problem.
That framing is immediately followed by a call to “stand up to [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] ICE.” That may not constitute an explicit call for obstruction, but it comes off as a wink and a nod, once you understand that the video appeared after ICE agents were physically obstructed by a crowd in downtown New York days earlier—an incident Mamdani referenced as the reason for his video.
The city has already gotten a glimpse of what this activist-driven chaos could look like. Late last month, police arrested at least 18 agitators in downtown Manhattan for disorderly conduct and obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicles in an attempt to disrupt an enforcement operation.
Unsurprisingly, given the Big Apple’s political climate, the anti-ICE rabblerousers were lauded rather than condemned. New York published a glowing profile of them and the nonprofit groups that trained and deployed them. New York attorney general Letitia James offered support for those arrested in a statement on X. Instead of reprimanding the lawbreakers thwarting federal agents, City Comptroller Brad Lander condemned the NYPD’s restoration of order, calling it a violation of New York’s sanctuary city policy.
Framing the arrest and deportation of people illegally in the United States as "kidnapping," or the physical obstruction of federal law enforcement officers as a constitutionally protected “protest," is generating hysterical opposition to ICE. This has led to a 1,150% spike in attacks on ICE personnel since the beginning of Donald Trump's term.
"New Yorkers have a constitutional right to protest, and when I'm mayor, we will protect that right," he said. "New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters."
Even those here illegally? Apparently so.
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