'Stop listening to them': Mamdani tells Democrats to ignore party leaders and abolish ICE

NEW YORK, NY: New York City's newly installed democratic socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani has ignited an intense ideological battle over the future of the Democratic Party by calling on liberals to completely ignore establishment elders and demand the total abolishment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Appearing on MS NOW's 'The Weekend' on Saturday, June 6, the freshman mayor doubled down on the polarizing proposal, positioning himself as a primary challenger to mainstream party leadership amid ongoing regional immigration conflicts.

The high-stakes internal friction erupted when Mamdani was asked about the intense anti-deportation protests unfolding at the Delancey Hall ICE facility across the Hudson River in New Jersey.

Maintaining an unflinching stance, Mamdani asserted his commitment to dismantling the federal agency, declaring that there is absolutely no way to reform the structural cruelty being witnessed from across the enforcement network. He further emphasized that New York remains unyielding in its sanctuary city policies.

Establishment leadership rejects progressive slogans

Mamdani’s hardline rhetoric directly exposes a widening chasm within the Democratic apparatus. Moderate party leaders in Washington have routinely criticized the "abolish ICE" messaging, calling the language highly destructive to the broader political health of the party.

Prominent moderate figures, including Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, have heavily pushed back against the progressive movement's platform, fearing an electoral backlash from voters who favor a structured border enforcement framework.

When directly asked to address these moderate concerns, Mamdani dismissed the complaints from his fellow liberals, arguing that the party had listened to establishment strategists before with disastrous results.

Federal enforcement operations spark urban unrest

The domestic border debate has taken on a heightened urgency since President Donald Trump won re-election on a platform focused on aggressive immigration enforcement.

While border crossings plummeted during the administration's first year back in the White House, the deployment of ICE and Border Patrol agents to major metropolitan hubs has triggered immense civil pushback from Democratic governors like Illinois executive JB Pritzker, who sharply compared the federal sweeps to N**i Germany.

With immigration raids in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and New York regularly meeting massive urban protests and localized riots, Mamdani insisted it is time to develop an uncompromising new vision for the party.

Believing that traditional leaders lack the principles to fight the federal crackdown, the progressive mayor urged his peers to completely sideline centrist warnings in favor of an unflinching ideological overhaul.