During an interview with MS NOW Senior Political and National Reporter Jacob Soboroff on Wednesday, New York City Mayor-Elect Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D) responded to a question on the NYPD possibly arresting ICE agents by stating that “My focus is for the NYPD to not be assisting ICE in their immigration enforcement and to actually be following the policies of sanctuary city law. And I do believe, however, that, for the law to have meaning, there has to be accountability for all of us.”
Soboroff asked, “I’ve also heard you say that no one is above the law and anyone can be held accountable, and that goes for the president of the United States and it also goes for ICE agents. I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but is there a scenario in which the NYPD under you could arrest ICE agents on the streets of New York for their behavior towards immigrants?”
Mamdani answered, “My focus is for the NYPD to not be assisting ICE in their immigration enforcement and to actually be following the policies of sanctuary city law. And I do believe, however, that, for the law to have meaning, there has to be accountability for all of us. And that is something that is necessary to speak about, to talk about, to act on, no matter who we’re referring to, because so many are losing faith in politics in this moment, because they’re seeing inconsistency take place in every different facet of our society.”
Soboroff followed up, “So, in other words, there is a circumstance in which, if an ICE agent violates someone’s rights here in New York City, they could be arrested by the police department?”
Mamdani responded, “I think if an ICE agent is breaking the law, then that is a law that they should be held accountable to.”
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