Zohran Mamdani tells immigrant New Yorkers about their right not to comply with ICE

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference, in the Queens borough of New York, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani posted a video to social media on Sunday explaining immigrants’ right to refuse to speak to or comply with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, days after federal agents carried out 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 people in the U.S. can chose not to speak to federal immigration agents, film them without interfering and refuse their requests to enter private spaces. ICE agents cannot enter spaces like a home, school or private area of a workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge, Mamdani said.

“ICE is legally allowed to lie to you, but you have the right to remain silent. If you’re being detained, you may always ask, ‘Am I free to go?’ repeatedly until they answer you,” said Mamdani, who will be sworn in as mayor on Jan 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 also met with protests.

“New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support, and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters,” Mamdani said in Sunday’s video.

Weeks earlier, Mamdani had a surprisingly cordial Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, whose administration is carrying out federal immigration enforcement operations in several U.S. cities, most recently in New Orleans.