Mamdani Drops New Video Teaching New Yorkers How to ‘Stand Up to ICE’
“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.'”
Liberals who worried that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s Oval Office lovefest with President Donald Trump signaled even a hint of federal cooperation ahead can rest easy. There’s no danger of that — none.
The Democratic socialist released a video Sunday making clear he remains fully committed to obstructing the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants from the city he will soon lead. He offered guidance to the “more than 3 million immigrants who call this city their home” on what to do if they encounter ICE.
[Note: According to 2022 data from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the most recent available numbers, approximately 412,000 — of the estimated 3 million immigrants who live in New York City — entered the U.S. illegally.]
Mamdani began by referencing the agency’s attempt “to raid Canal Street and detain our immigrant neighbors” the previous weekend and emphasized that “we can all stand up to ICE if you know your rights.”
He proceeded to instruct viewers on “the things that every New Yorker should know.”
“First,” he said, “ICE cannot enter into private spaces like your home, school, or private area of your workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge. That looks like this. 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.'”
The mayor-elect continued:
Sometimes ICE will show you paperwork that looks like this and tell you that they have the right to arrest you. That is false. 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.
You are legally allowed to film ICE as long as you do not interfere with an arrest.
It is important to remain calm during any interaction with ICE or law enforcement. Do not impede their investigation, resist arrest, or run.
One last thing, New Yorkers have a constitutional right to protest, and when I’m mayor, we will protect that right. New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support, and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters.
Nope…not how it works!
🚨🚓🚓🚓🚨
Mamdani tells immigrant New Yorkers about their right not to comply with ICE
“Mayor-elect’s video instructs NYers on their right to remain silent, film agents & refuse entry w/o a judicial warrant signed by a judge” https://t.co/hPS6r9Myrh
— Jason Miller (@JasonMiller) December 8, 2025
Let’s get this straight. These individuals have, at a minimum, violated U.S. federal immigration law to enter the country, and some may have committed additional crimes. Yet an elected official — who will soon swear an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution — is openly urging them to obstruct federal law enforcement officers.
This is where we’re at in America today: leaders of sanctuary states and cities openly ignore federal law simply because they disagree with it. That is not principled governance — it’s selective obedience. A society cannot thrive when its elected officials decide which laws they feel like following and which they can discard for political theater. When those in power treat the rule of law as optional, they don’t just undermine federal authority, they undermine the stability and trust that hold the entire country together.
One X user summed it up perfectly:
This isn’t compassion, it’s chaos. Mamdani’s video isn’t about rights—it’s a blueprint for obstruction, sabotaging ICE’s ability to target traffickers, cartels, and violent offenders. His sanctuary extremism blocks federal-local coordination, turning NYC into a magnet for criminal networks while inviting costly lawsuits.
This isn’t leadership—it’s ideological arson, burning down public safety to fuel his activist brand. New Yorkers pay the price for his performative defiance.
Then you ignore laws that you do not like? We should not bother to have borders or immigration laws?
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) December 7, 2025
This man is the best gift Democrats have ever handed to GOP https://t.co/Xo1M9upsI7
— Out of Bubbles (@_reliable_data_) December 7, 2025
But many others applauded Mamdani for his compassion. Here are several responses to the video on YouTube:
Finally an honest politician who actually cares about the basic Human rights of people instead of calling any foreigner an ‘illegal alien’.
Thank you, Zohran!!!! I am proud to have you as mayor. If these two ladies didn’t come up to my apartment (a six floor walkup) and tell me about you I never would have known who you are.. Also, they said they went to school with you.
God be with you Zohran. You are blessing to New Yorkers. I am from Pennsylvania and support your effort for New Yorkers.
This is what New Yorkers voted for in a free and fair election. We’ll see how it turns out for them.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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I am thousands of miles away from New York City. Therefore, other than the usual dealing with the mendacity and filtering of the media, I should be fairly safe from the events there. It is going to be both interesting and amusing to watch the collapse of civility, western culture, and the economy there.
Subotai Bahadur
Yes and those of us outside the blue jurisdictions will be joined by the (mostly) reasonable people who see where this is going and chose to get the heck out of Dodge. The ‘great sorting’ is continuing and the Nation is being realigned into camps with opposing worldviews. Hopefully this can combined with lessened Federal intrusion/size/scope and more active State/local gov’t that lowers the political stakes/tension. If not then the best we can hope for is a peaceful ‘divorce’ between Red and Blue Jurisdictions. Unfortunately while the Red Jurisdictions would probably reluctantly accept it the Blue Jurisdictions worldview seems to compels them to seek control/dominion over others and they wouldn’t simply allow us to be left alone, if they were capable of that we wouldn’t have conditions that created the great sorting in the first place.
Make this new experiment with NYC totally their own. Seal off any “contamination” … ie..$$$. Make sure that they own this. Only those who voted other than Dem are allowed to immigrate. No blue state safety valves.
They want the conflict. They WANT their idiot base to get arrested.
What they want, more than anything in the world, is some idiot leftist attacking ICE to the point ICE is actually forced to kill them, and then they can scream about the ICE ‘murderers’.
Their idiot base exists only to die for their fleeting political gain.
No one can legally be arrested for acting on the advice Mamdani gives in this video.
If they are then that’s a crime, and a tyrannical act that all Americans must oppose, even those of us who support what ICE is trying to do. If it oversteps its constitutional and legal bounds it must be fought back or we’re no longer the USA.
Obviously if these ‘protesters’ assemble peaceably and remain fully compliant with all applicable Federal, State and local laws, ordinances and regulations, to include immediate compliance if with lawful commands from on scene personnel they won’t have committed any offense/infraction. However if they approach into the on scene personnel ‘face’ and distract/disrupt the ongoing operation, even to cause enough threat to warrant redeployment of some on scene personnel, they have impeded the mission at that location. Standing back, monitoring and recording from a short distance is one thing, approaching close enough to trigger redeployment, much less physical proximity or even touching an Officer is something else entirely. Bottom line difference between the two IMO is if the ‘protesters’ insert themselves enough (in the opinion of the tactical commander) to become part of the operation or if they remain purely observers.
The video specifically warns people: “It is important to remain calm during any interaction with ICE or law enforcement. Do not impede their investigation, resist arrest, or run.”
Yes indeed it does, yet the sorts of ‘community engagement/protests’ we’ve seen have often not followed that warning. Instead these folks do exactly what I described. That’s the issue.
IMO it would better to stop granting the benefit of the doubt to those politicians, leaders and others exhorting crowds or individuals into action opposing ICE who fail to tell them what not to do, what behaviors/actions are intolerable or illegal, given the full context.
You can’t blame this video for what other people have done before it was made. It urges people not to behave like that, so you can’t criticize it for doing the opposite.
Ok Mittens. Do you also wear magic underwear.
Remember the greatest genocide in history was the Mamdani genocide of Hindus and Buddhists in India, 400 million. That would make Nazis blush .
The what?! There was no “Mamdani genocide”. Are you thinking of the Mughals?
The Muslim ( Mandami) conquest, scheisskopf
Talk is cheap, muzzy…food prices and crime will soar when ICE covers the bridges leading into Manhattan.
If they do not open the door, then check who is legally renting the apartment or if not legally rented, then who owns the dwelling. Next, make them pay the price for aiding and abetting the illegal harboring of a fugitive. That may change a few minds on being cooperative.
A person is not a fugitive until there is a valid warrant out for them. And to be liable for harboring them you must know there is a warrant.
Your comment is wrong.
Per Blacks, a fugitive is:
One who flees; always used in law with the implication of a flight, evasion, or escape from some duty or penalty or from the consequences of a misdeed.
Once “x’ robs a bank and flees, X becomes a fugitive.
Also, it is a crime to intentionally harbor an illegal from ICE. 8 USC 1324.
The existence of a warrant is not an element of the crime.
If there’s no warrant out for someone then he’s not fleeing anything. No one is looking for him.
Harboring likewise implies that he needs harbor. If someone comes to you to rent an apartment, just like anyone else, and you happen to know he’s here illegally, you’re not harboring him, you’re just housing him. It’s only if you know there’s a warrant out and ICE is looking for him, and you hide him from them, then you’re harboring.
Keep in mind that Milhouse is a Democrat who pretends to be a Republican lawyer for the purpose of demoralizing the opposition to leftist interests.
He will always give bad advice that sounds as if it is good advice.
Keep in mind that Azathoth is a filthy liar who pollutes this site and makes it a poisonous environment, while never contributing even one thing of value, ever. He is literally a demon from Hell, and should go back there quickly. He seems to be devoted to persecuting me and lying about me, and driving me off this site. And he’s likely to succeed. The pleasure I get from honest discussion is about balanced by the misery he inflicts on me with his sheer dishonesty and I’m on the verge of quitting.
“Let’s get this straight. These individuals have, at a minimum, violated U.S. federal immigration law to enter the country, and some may have committed additional crimes. Yet an elected official — who will soon swear an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution — is openly urging them to obstruct federal law enforcement officers.”
Ah, but the PRETENSE is that ICE is harassing people who are LEGALLY here, picking on them just because they are not white… and so the farce plays out.
And there is plenty of evidence that at least occasionally this does happen. The Institute for Justice, which we all know as the good guys, has a case going about that.
It has happened a couple of times that ICE has swept up Citizens who couldn’t demonstrate via ID they are US Citizens. The one IJ is involved in was egregious. With the presence of illegal aliens brought as children decades ago some of the usual indicators; language, mannerisms, clothing choices are nullified and ID, particularly Real ID is a better tell in context. Then again what’s the total number of times out of how many ICE/CPB encounters? The very rare exception doesn’t demonstrate anything by itself other than to show how often the mission is done correctly. Punish the individual agents involved in overstepping, ignoring policy or using personal animus to target someone unlawfully.
Exactly. But it does happen. In an operation of this scale it’s probably inevitable that there will be the occasional incidents. And those need to be condemned by everyone. They don’t reflect on all the good arrests.
Now reproduce the same video showing how to stand up to NYPD. And then another one for State Police, etc etc.
Wait for it.
Subotai Bahadur
The exact same thing applies to all of them. No need for separate videos. And yes, everyone should know their rights, and it’s a public service to inform people of them. Never let a cop into your home without a warrant. If detained, insist on being told definitively whether you are free to go. Never resist or obstruct an arrest, legal or illegal, but do film it from a safe distance. This is basic stuff.
Can we make a similar video suggesting that they quickly stick their hands in a pocket when approached by police as a way to avoid being handcuffed?
They’re going to make an example out of Hannah “Diner” Dugan
What has she got to do with it? She’s a criminal. She actively and knowingly assisted a fugitive to escape arrest. Nothing in this video suggests breaking any law. On the contrary, it correctly informs people of their legal rights and advises them to stick to the law.
You’re a moron if you think that the motivation behind this video is simply to ensure that all people are aware of their rights.
Then tell me what he says that’s wrong. What does he say that is not exactly in accord with the law.
I didn’t say anything was wrong or not in accordance with the law. He’s a politician, which means he doesn’t give a rat’s fart about anyone’s well-being beyond what they can do for him politically.
This new NYC Mayor is about to cause massive lack of Federal Funds to NY and NYC. I expect more NYPD to be gone as quick as possible also leading to more crime plus less business in the city at all levels.
We have seen President Trump use the National Guard in various cities to curb crime, but with this Mayor I do not see this happening. I see Trump letting the city rot into what they voted for until at least the midterms are over and then see if the city’s voting has changed.
Glad to see one from Pennsylvania deciding to move to where they want this situation and leave my state alone!!
It’s very distressing to have liberals from a blue state move to my conservative area AND STILL VOTE FOR THEIR STUPID WAYS.
JUST STOP!
That is exactly how it works. This is a nation of laws, and Mamdani’s advice is exactly correct.
No, he is urging them to stand on their rights, which no one disputes that they have. He is urging them to insist that the law be observed, which it must be. That is not obstruction. You would do exactly the same if they came to your home. Only a fool wouldn’t.
Not all illegal aliens broke the law by entering the country; some entered legally and then failed to leave when required. But it doesn’t matter. No matter what offenses a person may have committed, he doesn’t forfeit his rights. He still doesn’t have to let government agents into his home without a real warrant.
No, they don’t. The law is on their side. The constitution guarantees their right to do exactly what they are doing. Anyone who would abrogate that right is openly defying the constitution.
>> some entered legally and then failed to leave when required. <<
Will that work if I am arested inside a bank after hours? But officer, they let me in, so how can it be breaking and entering?
"You don't have to go home but you can't stay here" Semisonic
Remaining in this country illegally is not a crime. It’s a civil violation. Still an offense, and the person is still deportable, but it’s not correct to say they committed a crime. But it doesn’t matter. Even criminals have the same right as anyone else not to let government agents on to their property without a warrant. Even criminals have the right to insist on knowing whether they are free to go or under arrest, and not to be arrested without probable cause. No one has the right to resist an arrest, even an illegal one — the time to challenge an arrest is after it has happened — but even genuine criminals are not required to actively assist in their arrest, just not to resist it.
” Even criminals have the same right as anyone else not to let government agents on to their property without a warrant.”
Stupid bastard.
Another enemy of the US constitution and the whole point of having a USA in the first place. If this is your attitude then you are the problem, not the Democrats.
Hurry up, TEXIT – get us out of the whorehouse our Old America has become.
Milhouse said “Remaining in this country illegally is not a crime. It’s a civil violation.”
That’s a new angle for me, but I guess I’m unenlightened.
Could someone clarify? Difference between a crime and a civil violation??
Keep in mind that Milhouse is a Democrat who pretends to be a Republican lawyer for the purpose of demoralizing the opposition to leftist interests.
He will always give bad advice that sounds as if it is good advice.
Keep in mind that Azathoth is a fucking liar. Not one word he writes is ever true, even about something completely trivial.
Tiger, what’s to explain? How can anyone not understand that a civil violation is not a crime? Crimes are felonies and misdemeanors. You are accused of a crime, have a right to a trial by jury, and suffer a criminal penalty. Violations are a civil matter; the government sues you just like any plaintiff can sue you, at the state level there’s no automatic right to trial by jury, the standard is the preponderance of the evidence, etc.
“How can anyone not understand that a civil violation is not a crime?”
I appreciate your graciousness in talking down to me. No doubt you are much better bred than I.