Brace yourself, New York: Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani just dropped a video that’s stirring the pot, advising unauthorized migrants on dodging federal immigration enforcement, the New York Post reported.
Following a disrupted ICE operation in Chinatown last weekend, Mamdani’s Sunday message on social media laid out strategies for evading agents while claiming to champion the rights of over 3 million immigrants in the city.
Last Saturday, nearly 200 protesters in Lower Manhattan blocked ICE officers from accessing a parking garage during a raid, marking the second significant operation in the area within six weeks.
Nine unauthorized migrants were detained in earlier October raids, setting the stage for the tension that erupted with last weekend’s events.
By Sunday, Mamdani was on platform X with a video, standing before a flip chart marked “Know your rights,” offering a step-by-step guide on standing up to federal agents.
He positioned himself as a defender of every New Yorker, particularly the over 3 million immigrants, a figure that includes at least 412,000 unauthorized individuals per 2022 data from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
“Last weekend, ICE attempted to raid Canal Street and detain our immigrant neighbors,” Mamdani declared in his post on X, doubling down with a pledge to protect all New Yorkers.
His advice was specific: ICE can’t enter private spaces like homes or schools without a judicial warrant signed by a judge, and he even flashed an example of such a document on screen.
Mamdani urged viewers to refuse entry by stating, “I do not consent,” and to keep doors shut if no proper warrant is shown, a tactic that sounds noble but flirts with obstructing federal law.
He also noted that ICE might present misleading paperwork and encouraged silence, advising detainees to repeatedly ask, “Am I free to go?” until they get a response.
Filming ICE officers is legal, Mamdani added, as long as it doesn’t interfere with an arrest, and he stressed that New Yorkers have a constitutional right to protest.
Conservatives aren’t buying this framing; on X, commentator Carmine Sabia fired back, “Then you ignore laws that you do not like?” questioning if borders even matter under this logic.
Another user, Liz Rios, was sharper, posting, “Aiding abetting and advising criminals,” while a third quipped that Mamdani might be an unintended boon for Republican messaging.
Looking ahead, friction seems inevitable between Mamdani’s incoming administration and federal authorities under President Trump, especially on immigration enforcement policies.
Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security offered immediate comments on the video, leaving the debate to simmer in the public square for now.
