During a news conference in South Florida on Tuesday afternoon, President Trump incorrectly implied that Democratic candidate for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani may be in the country illegally by questioning his citizenship position.
For the 33-year-old democratic socialist, “a lot of people are saying he’s here illegally,” Trump said. “Everything will be considered. Even while I hope he ends up being less of a communist in the future, that’s just who he is right now.
In other words, Mamdani is not an illegal immigrant. His parents were Indian, and he was born in Uganda. In 2018, he became an American citizen.
Attempting to frighten him, Mamdani denounced the president’s remarks in a statement. “If you speak up, they will come for you,” he said, adding that the speaker’s remarks were an assault on democracy and an effort to send a message to any New Yorker who refused to remain silent.
In addition, Trump threatened to imprison Mamdani if the Democrat carried out her campaign pledge to resist ICE agents.
As part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, federal agents have detained or jailed a number of Democratic politicians. These include Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), and Brad Lander, the comptroller of New York City who ran against Mamdani in the primary and backed him: Brad Lander.
As an example, the White House has threatened to take action against “sanctuary cities” like New York and has sued Los Angeles for what it calls a “refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.”
“Listen, we’re not looking for a communist here, but if we do, I will be keeping a close eye on him as an agent of the country,” Trump declared.
In a letter submitted last week to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tennessee Republican Andy Ogles urged the Justice Department to begin denaturalization procedures against Mamdani.
In a document dated June 11, Bondi’s DOJ instructed its attorneys to prioritize denaturalization in instances involving specified offenses committed by naturalized citizens; Trump’s remarks coincide with this directive.
This past Sunday, when appearing on “Meet the Press” on NBC, Mamdani denounced Ogles’ remarks, calling them “regular and repeated smears and slander upon my name and on the very basis of my faith.”
