Overview
- In the video, the mayor-elect distinguishes a judge-signed judicial warrant from ICE administrative paperwork and advises people to keep doors closed without one.
- He tells New Yorkers they may remain silent, ask “Am I free to go?”, and record agents if they do not interfere, while urging calm and no obstruction.
- The guidance comes days after an ICE action near Chinatown that drew large protests, the second major operation in six weeks following an October sweep that resulted in nine arrests.
- Mamdani pledges to defend the city’s roughly 3 million immigrants and says his administration will protect New Yorkers’ constitutional right to protest.
- Conservative figures, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, criticized the video as encouraging evasion, as coverage frames the episode as an early test with the Trump administration despite Mamdani’s recent cordial Oval Office meeting.