Overview

• Councilwoman Vickie Paladino questioned Mamdani’s citizenship tenure on X, labeled him a radical leftist and demanded his deportation.
• Mamdani, born in Uganda and naturalized in 2018, condemned the demand as hateful and cited death threats and Islamophobic attacks against him and his family.
• Paladino’s office later stated Mamdani was ineligible for deportation but would have been removed if not a citizen over alleged ties to antisemitic organizations.
• Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo condemned the deportation call as a Republican tactic, and Mayor Eric Adams urged an end to harsh rhetoric without directly criticizing Paladino.
• The exchange has spotlighted extremist rhetoric in the Democratic primary, where Mamdani’s socialist platform has him polling as the runner-up to Cuomo.