NYC Mayor Mamdani calls ICE ‘rogue’ and says it should be abolished

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished, calling the federal agency “rogue” and “reckless” as questions mount over the city’s handling of illegal immigration following the fatal shooting of an elderly veteran on the subway.

At a news conference announcing new street security efforts, the mayor said he had spoken to President Donald Trump about immigration enforcement operations in the city, saying ICE was a “malicious agency.”

“We clearly state that no one is above the law in this city, that everyone must respect the rule of law,” Mamdani said. “I made it clear to the president, both in our private conversations and in our public conversations, that I believed ICE was a malicious agency.”

Mamdani added that he believes ICE is “reckless” and “doing nothing to advance the cause of public safety.”

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday that ICE should be abolished. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“I have also publicly expressed my belief that ICE is an entity that should be abolished, and that is critically important in our city, where we have seen too many New Yorkers live in fear of even going to what would otherwise be routine immigration checks,” he said. “…What we have had in the meantime is a federal entity that operates with a certain level of impunity, and that must end.”

The mayor later supported protests against the Trump administration, endorsing the “No Kings NYC” protest planned for Saturday in Manhattan.

“I think rallies are an incredibly effective way for New Yorkers to organize together and clearly express their vision for the city, for the state, for this country,” Mamdani said. “I think what we’ve seen is there’s an attempt to make a lot of people in our city feel alone, when they believe that ICE has no place in our city, when they believe that every New Yorker who lives in this city belongs in this city and should feel that way.

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Riggers waving flags at a “No Kings” rally in Los Angeles. (SIPA United States)

“These rallies are also an opportunity to realize that you are not a minority when you hold these beliefs. You are actually part of a growing coalition of people who want to see some decency, dignity and humanity return to our city and to the politics of our country.”

Reporters did not ask Mamdani about the recent killing of Richard Williams, an 83-year-old Air Force veteran who died after allegedly being pushed onto the New York City subway tracks by an illegal immigrant from Honduras. Mamdani has not yet publicly commented on the killing.

When asked if Honduran national Bairon Posada-Hernandez, 34, would be turned over to ICE, the mayor’s office referred Fox News to the Department of Corrections (DOC).

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Bairon Posada-Herandez, an illegal immigrant, is charged with murder after allegedly pushing Richard Williams, 83, and another man, onto the Manhattan subway tracks. Williams died from his injuries a few days later. (Getty Images/Department of Homeland Security)

A DOC spokesperson said the agency processes ICE detainees “in accordance with local law,” which limits cooperation.

Under city law, ICE is only notified if there is a detainer supported by a judicial warrant (I-200 or I-205) and the person has a recent conviction for a violent or serious crime.

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It is unclear whether ICE will be notified or will take custody of Posada-Hernandez, who has been deported from the United States four times, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

DHS officials asked New York City to cooperate, saying: “Posada-Hernandez is a serial criminal and four-time deported illegal alien who should NEVER have been able to walk our streets and harm innocent Americans.