Mamdani: Ongoing immigration enforcement in Minneapolis is 'horrific'
One day before the second U.S. citizen in less than a month was fatallyshot by a federal agentdeployed to Minneapolis, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani sharply criticized the ongoing federal immigration enforcement operation as "horrific."
"It is horrific, what we have seen there, and I think that there are too many Americans who are being asked to not believe their own eyes, not believe their own ears, not believe their own realities," Mamdani told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl in an interview that aired Sunday.
"These ICE raids -- they are cruel. They are inhumane. They do nothing to serve the interests of public safety," he said, telling Karl he has directly conveyed his view to President Donald Trump.
Mamdani sat down with Karl on Friday for his first Sunday show interview since being inaugurated as New York's mayor on New Year's Day. The two discussed the 34-year-old democratic socialist's approach to governing, ambitious economic agenda and relationship with Trump. But amid the ongoing tensions over the administration's immigration enforcement tactics -- now inflamed further by Saturday's deadly shooting -- the mayor made clear he would do everything he could to prevent federal agents from operating in his city as they are in Minneapolis.
"We know that the fear that so many are living with in Minneapolis, it's a fear that New Yorkers are also living with, a fear of being terrorized," Mamdani said. "And I will do everything in my power to ensure that we do not see that take place in New York City."
Mamdani, an immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen, denounced federal agents' tactics.
"Right now, you have masked agents who are terrorizing people across this country, whether they're in their home, in their car, out on the street," he said. "You have the loss of what it means to be an American in your own country, the sense of safety and the sense of self. That's something we should all be fighting."
Mamdani called thefatal shootingof 37-year-old Renee Good a "murder." Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in her car on Jan. 7, sparking weeks of protests in Minneapolis. Good was a U.S. citizen and not the target of an immigration raid.
On Saturday, another 37-year-old U.S. citizen,Alex Pretti, was killed after being shot several times by at least one Customs and Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis.
Trump administration officials were quick to defend the agent's actions, with multiple officials labeling Pretti a "domestic terrorist." Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz condemned the shooting and called statements from federal officials "nonsense" and "lies."
Asked how he would prevent similar immigration enforcement operations from taking place in New York, Mamdani told Karl that the city has "a number of tools," including taking legal action or speaking out against any planned operation.
"We're going to exhaust every option to protect New Yorkers. We want to do everything in our power now to ensure it never gets to that stage," Mamdani said. "Our values, our laws, these are not bargaining chips that we will shirk away from at the first sign of a threat. These are things that we'll defend. And we defend them because we're proud of them."
Despite his criticism of the current administration, Mamdani said he has maintained a relationship with Trump since their surprisingly friendly Oval Office meeting in November. The mayor would not go into detail about their conversations, but said that his focus is always on New Yorkers.
"I think it's less about the maintenance of a personal relationship, it's more about delivering for the people of the city," Mamdani said. "Where the president is looking to pursue policies that will hurt the city, I'm going to be there on the front lines. And when the president is going to pursue policy to help the city, I'll embrace that opportunity for working together."
Mamdani discusses governing approach and economic agenda
Mamdani said his priority is to make New York's city government function effectively and meet the needs of residents, while also making it an affordable place to live. But his democratic socialist identity has attracted a host of critics who believe his policy proposal will do harm to the city.
In his inaugural address, this line drew condemnation from the right: "We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism."
"What did you mean by that?" Karl asked.
"I meant that too often New Yorkers are made to feel as if their struggles are only their own," Mamdani said.
"I think I have a problem with how so many are alienated from the city that they live in, the state that they're in, the society that they belong to," he continues. "What I've found time and again is that the most transformative policies that we can have for New Yorkers, they're only possible if we're actually achieving them together and if every New Yorker sees themselves as part of that whole."
Making New York more affordable was the central tenet of his campaign, but the mayor said he's not trying to do so at the expense of businesses or the wealthy.
"You're in the city that is seen as the center of global capitalism. Do you want it to remain that way?" Karl asked.
"I want it to continue to be a place that generates prosperity. We should be proud of that legacy. And to ensure that that prosperity reaches every New Yorker," he said.
Some business executives have criticized Mamdani and said his proposal to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers could lead them to leave the city altogether. Mamdani said in the interview that he wants them to stay, because everyone is included in his brand of politics.
"We want this to be a vision of a city, not where we pick and choose who gets to live here, but that we make room for everybody to do so," Mamdani said.
