Mayor Mamdani Discusses Immigration and ICE on ABC News
New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, a member of the Socialist Democratic party, shared his views in a recent ABC News interview, suggesting that he doesn’t find Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) necessary due to its relatively recent establishment.
During the interview, host Jonathan Karl asked Mamdani about his previous statements advocating for the elimination of ICE and how immigration laws might be enforced without the agency. He questioned where the mayor believes these laws “shouldn’t be enforced.”
“We’re handling it with a touch of humanity,” Mamdani remarked while speaking with Karl on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” This discussion took place just a day following the incident where Border Patrol shot and killed Alex Preti in Minneapolis.
Mamdani noted, “The immigration system existed long before ICE. ICE is a modern creation. I am older than ICE.”
Karl interjected, clarifying that some form of enforcement has always been in place, regardless of the name. “But you always had some organization, whatever you want to call it, that enforced those rules,” he pointed out.
In response, Mamdani differentiated ICE from any other enforcement entities, asserting, “ICE is an organization that cares very little about the rules. It operates with reckless impunity and seems to thrive on disregarding those rules. That’s what invokes fear in people. ICE agents are masked. Often, you don’t know who they are.”
The mayor further claimed that “there are instances of people pretending to be ICE agents because they know they don’t have identification.”
Established in March 2003 through the Homeland Security Act of 2002, ICE was formed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Mamdani was born in 1991. Before the advent of ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the U.S. Customs Service, which had been operational since 1933 and 1789 respectively, carried out similar responsibilities until their dissolution under the Homeland Security Act.
Mamdani’s comments followed news that agents had shot Preti on Saturday. He expressed on social media, “ICE is terrorizing our cities. It puts us all at risk. Abolish ICE.”
Although ICE and the Border Patrol function as separate agencies, both fall under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Mamdani is not alone in his stance; other elected Democrats, spanning various inner-party factions, have condemned ICE following the shooting deaths of Preti and Renee Good.
“I’m Older Than ICE”: Zohran Mamdani Responds When Called Out on His Anti-Enforcement Comments
Mayor Mamdani Discusses Immigration and ICE on ABC News
New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, a member of the Socialist Democratic party, shared his views in a recent ABC News interview, suggesting that he doesn’t find Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) necessary due to its relatively recent establishment.
During the interview, host Jonathan Karl asked Mamdani about his previous statements advocating for the elimination of ICE and how immigration laws might be enforced without the agency. He questioned where the mayor believes these laws “shouldn’t be enforced.”
“We’re handling it with a touch of humanity,” Mamdani remarked while speaking with Karl on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” This discussion took place just a day following the incident where Border Patrol shot and killed Alex Preti in Minneapolis.
Mamdani noted, “The immigration system existed long before ICE. ICE is a modern creation. I am older than ICE.”
Karl interjected, clarifying that some form of enforcement has always been in place, regardless of the name. “But you always had some organization, whatever you want to call it, that enforced those rules,” he pointed out.
In response, Mamdani differentiated ICE from any other enforcement entities, asserting, “ICE is an organization that cares very little about the rules. It operates with reckless impunity and seems to thrive on disregarding those rules. That’s what invokes fear in people. ICE agents are masked. Often, you don’t know who they are.”
The mayor further claimed that “there are instances of people pretending to be ICE agents because they know they don’t have identification.”
Established in March 2003 through the Homeland Security Act of 2002, ICE was formed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Mamdani was born in 1991. Before the advent of ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the U.S. Customs Service, which had been operational since 1933 and 1789 respectively, carried out similar responsibilities until their dissolution under the Homeland Security Act.
Mamdani’s comments followed news that agents had shot Preti on Saturday. He expressed on social media, “ICE is terrorizing our cities. It puts us all at risk. Abolish ICE.”
Although ICE and the Border Patrol function as separate agencies, both fall under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Mamdani is not alone in his stance; other elected Democrats, spanning various inner-party factions, have condemned ICE following the shooting deaths of Preti and Renee Good.
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