New York City’s sanctuary policies don’t go far enough for Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who said on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” he wants to spend even more taxpayer money to help illegal immigrants if he's elected.
“Our campaign is one that stands by the actual enforcement of the law as it is here in New York City, with sanctuary city policies that have kept us safe," he said, a claim the Trump administration would disagree with.
"I would also commit to increasing the staffing of our law department by 200 to bring us back to pre-COVID levels, and to ensure that when we look at this city we are using every tool at our disposal to keep New Yorkers together, to keep families together," the democratic socialist continued.
Mamdani emphasized the urgency of his plan, claiming "400,000 of our residents are right now in urgent risk of deportation."
"The city knows that when it provides legal assistance to those same New Yorkers, their chances of going home increase 11-fold, and yet it has only assisted fewer than 200 of those New Yorkers," he added. "That’s why also a cornerstone of our campaign is a commitment to increase funding for those very legal defense services by more than $100 million so we can ensure we're taking every step we can to keep New Yorkers safe, to keep New Yorkers together, and to show the world that they are welcome in this city."
Communist Zohran Mamdani goes further than NYC's sanctuary city policies, saying he wants to spend $100 million to provide legal aid to illegal aliens.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 21, 2025
Mamdani wants to use New Yorkers' taxpayer dollars to protect "400,000" illegal immigrants. pic.twitter.com/lMSaYm2smG
Border czar Tom Homan has warned Mamdani that if he's elected, he better not impede ICE operations.
"We know [New York is] releasing public safety threats and national security threats to the streets every day because they don’t honor our detainers," Homan said. "We’re going to get the bad guys, so if they don’t want to help, get out the way. We’re coming to do it."
President Trump, meanwhile, said he will be watching Mamdani closely if he's elected.
"We don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation," the president told reporters over the summer.
Editor’s Note: Zohran Mamdani is an avowed Democratic Socialist and has a real chance to become the next mayor of New York City.
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