New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani posted a social media video this week telling immigrants how to refuse cooperation with federal immigration officers, instructing viewers that they can remain silent, film agents, and deny entry unless presented with a judicial warrant. The message came in the wake of an ICE operation in Manhattan that drew protests and national attention, and Mamdani framed his comments as a promise to protect the city’s more than three million immigrants.
In the clip Mamdani held up example documents and warned that ICE agents are legally permitted to lie, urging New Yorkers to repeatedly ask “Am I free to go?” if they are being detained and to refuse entry to private spaces without a judge-signed warrant. Those are technical legal points, and pointing them out is one thing, but broadcasting them in a charged way to a broad audience crosses into coaching people how to thwart lawful federal enforcement.
Conservative observers are right to be alarmed: this isn’t community outreach, it’s a political play that helps people evade federal law enforcement and undermines the rule of law. The mayor-elect’s timing — after recent raids in Canal Street and other Manhattan locations — makes it look like he’s taking sides against federal agents doing their jobs to enforce immigration laws and public safety.
Let us be clear: standing up for due process and constitutional rights should never mean instructing people on how to obstruct lawful investigations or shelter those who entered the country illegally. Law-abiding immigrants and American citizens suffer when city leaders prioritize political theater over enforcement, because criminals exploit sanctuary policies and mixed messages from officials who should instead uphold order. The city deserves leadership that protects all residents, not one that heels to radical activists.
Mayor-elect Mamdani will be sworn in on January 1, 2026, and that transition gives conservatives and concerned citizens a clear deadline to demand answers about whether his administration will actively interfere with federal law enforcement. Federal authorities and lawmakers should make it plain that coaching people to evade arrests and obstruct warrants is unacceptable and must be met with accountability, not applause.
New Yorkers don’t want a mayor who treats federal agents as villains and treats evasion as civic virtue; they want streets where families can walk safely and businesses can operate without fear. If Mamdani truly cares about the city’s immigrants, he should focus on integrating them into a lawful, prosperous society instead of offering a playbook for avoidance. Conservatives will keep pressing this point until voters see leadership that defends both the law and the safety of every neighborhood.
This episode is a reminder that elections have consequences, and that local officials’ rhetoric matters for national enforcement and community safety. Patriots who love the rule of law must hold the line, speak up, and make sure that protecting constitutional rights never becomes an excuse to hinder the enforcement that keeps our communities secure.
