New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani strode onto ABC’s The View this month and doubled down on a demand to abolish ICE, even calling the recent killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent “murder” and insisting his city’s sanctuary posture would not be a bargaining chip. His theatrical bedside manner with the hosts played well on daytime TV, but television applause doesn’t change the fact that his rhetoric is extreme and detached from the consequences on the ground.
For all his lofty talk about “humanity,” Mamdani reflexively paints federal law enforcement as the villain while offering no real plan to protect ordinary citizens from violence and chaos. He promised to uphold sanctuary protections even as federal officers face pitched resistance in cities where operations have become flashpoints, a stance that reads less like pragmatic governance and more like ideological grandstanding. Americans deserve leaders who secure communities first, not politicians who signal virtue by weakening enforcement.
The killing of Renee Nicole Macklin Good in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, was a tragic and messy event that has been widely documented: video footage and multiple news accounts show an ICE officer fired on a vehicle during a federal operation, and the incident has fed nationwide outrage and confusion. The rush to declare guilt or martydom on cable news and daytime panels before full investigations is exactly the kind of performative justice that erodes public trust and endangers the men and women who put themselves in harm’s way enforcing immigration laws. We must let facts guide policy, not emotional soundbites.
Yet Democrats like Mamdani insist on abolishing ICE while federal prosecutors and investigators still sort through the facts, a position that does nothing to help grieving families or improve public safety. This reckless posture fuels the very unrest that gives bad actors cover and forces agents to make split-second life-or-death decisions under impossible circumstances. If politicians want to lead, they should be calming tensions and supporting accountability, not fanning the flames for applause.
Conservatives understand that secure borders and competent enforcement are not cruelty — they are the precondition for a civilized society where rights are respected and communities are safe. Abolishing ICE in the middle of high-profile shootings and partisan chaos would be an abdication of responsibility that rewards lawlessness and punishes ordinary Americans. Leaders who champion such policies are betraying the public trust and handing political cover to those who would exploit disorder.
Americans who care about order, due process, and the safety of their neighbors should reject Mamdani’s theatrical calls and demand sober solutions: proper training, transparent investigations, and policies that respect both human dignity and the rule of law. Patriotism means defending institutions that protect our fellow citizens while fixing their faults — not tearing them down on a daytime talk show to score headlines. The stakes are too high for performative politics; hardworking Americans deserve real leadership, not radical rhetoric.
