Zohran Mamdani pledges to block ICE deployment at NYC polling stations ahead of midterms

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Ahead of the midterms scheduled later this year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani pledged to block the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at polling stations in New York City. His statement came during an interview with NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday, April 19.

Zohran Mamdani 'will do everything in my power to ensure' ICE isn't present

Replying to a question about what he would do if ICE agents show up at polling stations in New York City for midterms likely to take place in November, Mamdani said, "I will do everything in my power to ensure that is not the case."

"I think it speaks to a vision of this country where democracy is something to be suppressed, as opposed to something to be protected," he added. 

Mamdani said that Republicans are utilizing the ICE agents for all the “functions of the government” that they are not able to fund.

"I think that what we are seeing time and time again is an attempt to utilize ICE for all of the other functions of government that Republicans are unable to fund because they don't want to ensure that these kinds of quality of services continue across the country," he remarked. 

Zohran Mamdani says he raised ICE issue before Trump

During the interview, Mamdani was also asked if he raised the ICE deployment concern before President Donald Trump.

Mamdani replied, "I've said to the president, ICE has nothing to do with elections. I've said to him time and time again that ICE is a cruel and inhumane agency, and that here in New York City, we are focused on delivering public safety. I talk about affordability every single day."

To be sure, recently, Mamdani said that he has “an honest, direct and productive” relationship with President Trump.

Zohran Mamdani opens up about his conversations with Trump

Further speaking about his relatively good relationship with Trump, Mamdani said that he has something special that no one else has, and hence, he is lucky. And the special thing is that both of them are from New York City.

The NYC mayor said, "We're both from this same city. And it means that our conversations are not just of the scale that is typical with the president, but also granular about even the things as specific as zoning law changes in Midtown Manhattan."