Mamdani Releases Video In Spanish Telling ‘New Yorkers’ How To Evade ICE

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a Spanish-language video Friday instructing residents on how to respond to encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including how to refuse agents entry into private spaces, remain silent during questioning, and access taxpayer-funded immigration legal services.

(Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“If you encounter ICE, these are your rights,” Mamdani said in the video, which he posted to social media as his administration continues to oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.

The mayor also reiterated his administration’s commitment to keeping local law enforcement out of immigration enforcement, declaring, “The city, including local police, do not assist in the enforcement of civil immigration law.”

Mamdani’s instructions began with advice on how to respond if ICE agents attempt to enter a private space, including a home, church, hospital, or private area of a workplace. He told viewers to look for the words “United States District Court” and a judge’s signature on a warrant, and suggested asking agents to slide the document under the door.

“If they don’t have a judicial order, you can leave the door closed and say, ‘I do not consent to your entry,’” Mamdani said.

He next advised viewers to remain silent if stopped by ICE on the street and to ask, “Am I free to go?” If an agent says yes, Mamdani said, viewers should walk away calmly. He also urged viewers to consult a lawyer before signing documents or making decisions about their immigration cases.

The mayor directed viewers to New York City’s immigration legal support line, 1-800-354-0365, and said the service was free, confidential, and available in multiple languages. He also told them they could call 311 and say “immigration legal.”

Mamdani closed by invoking the right to protest and pledging to protect it. “These are very frightening times for many people,” he said. “But as your mayor, I will fight every day to protect, support, and celebrate our communities.”

Republican lawmakers condemned the video, arguing that it emphasized resistance to immigration enforcement without encouraging compliance with federal law.

“At no point in this video is anyone urged to abide by the laws of the United States,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote on X. “Because it was not made for the benefit of the people of the United States.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) accused Mamdani of “openly helping illegal aliens evade ICE and undermine the law,” while Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) criticized the use of public resources to deliver the guidance. “Today, the socialist mayor is using taxpayer resources to instruct illegals, in Spanish, how to evade accountability,” LaLota wrote.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) offered a one-word response to the video: “Treason.”

The video comes amid heightened tensions over immigration enforcement in New York City, following an encounter earlier this month in which an ICE officer shot Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national, in the neck during an attempted detention in Manhattan. Belgal was treated at a hospital and then taken into federal custody. The Department of Homeland Security said he had a criminal record and had rammed agents’ vehicles with his own car as they tried to block him in; Mamdani condemned the shooting and demanded that ICE halt its enforcement operations in the city.

Mamdani has repeatedly called for ICE to be abolished and has pledged to defend New York’s sanctuary-city policies, which limit the circumstances in which municipal authorities cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. He has also urged parking garage and lot operators to prevent ICE from using their properties as staging areas.

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