New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Sunday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should stop operating in New York City altogether, citing an incident in which agents shot at a moving vehicle in broad daylight.
Speaking on MS NOW’s “Connect,” Mamdani described agents wearing construction vests and carrying long guns during the incident, which he said left New Yorkers frightened.
“We are talking about a federal agency that shot at a moving vehicle in broad daylight while its agents were wearing construction vests, using long guns, and left New Yorkers in terror,” Mamdani said.
He argued that the agency’s tactics don’t match standard law enforcement practice, noting that the NYPD would not fire on a moving vehicle and that officers are expected to wear identifiable uniforms.
“There is a reason why the NYPD would not be shooting at a moving vehicle. There is a reason why law enforcement agents are supposed to wear identifiable information and uniforms,” he said, adding that bystanders who saw video of the incident were “unsure as to what they were even seeing, because in that imagery, it feels as if you’re almost looking at a mass shooter, as opposed to seeing someone who’s purportedly representing a federal agency.”
Mamdani said he has raised his concerns directly with President Trump and with the relevant cabinet secretary, telling them public safety in the city remains one of his top priorities.
“It begins with calls to the president and then to the secretary, and in those calls I make very clear, as I’ve shared with the president before, which is that I’m immensely concerned about public safety in our city,” Mamdani said. “It is from that concern that I believe that ICE should not be in this city at all, that it should frankly, not even be an agency that exists, because what we see from their actions is an agency that terrorizes, one that creates a sense of fear as opposed to any idea of safety.”
Mamdani’s comments come amid ongoing tension between city officials and federal immigration authorities over enforcement operations within New York City.
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