OAN Staff Blake Wolf and Brooke Mallory
12:34 PM – Monday, December 8, 2025
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani issued a video offering advice to illegal immigrants on how to evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, while vowing to “stand up” against the federal government’s mass deportation campaign.
The bilingual English-Spanish video was posted to X on Sunday, titled “Know Your Rights.”
In response to a recent ICE raid on Canal Street, Mamdani proclaimed his commitment to “protect the rights of every single New Yorker, and that includes the more than three million immigrants who call this city their home,” suggesting that even legal immigrants would need to fear deportation.
“But we can all stand up to ICE if you know your rights,” he continued, going on to offer guidance to immigrants during encounters with federal immigration agents.
“First, ICE cannot enter into private spaces like your home, school or private area of your workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge,” Mamdani explained. “If ICE does not have a judicial warrant signed by a judge, you have the right to say, ‘I do not consent to entry’ and the right to keep your door closed.”
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On the weekend of December 6-7, U.S. ICE agents conducted a large-scale immigration enforcement operation on Canal Street in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood, targeting illegal immigrant street vendors illegally selling counterfeit goods. Soon after, as word spread rapidly through community networks, protesters — alerted via social media and “progressive” networks — gathered outside the garage, blocking the agents’ exit and impeding their efforts. At least a dozen protesters were arrested by NYPD.
Later in the NYC Mayor-Elect’s video, he also states that ICE may attempt to substitute a judicial warrant with non-binding legal paperwork, declaring: “ICE is legally allowed to lie to you. But you have the right to remain silent. If you are being detained, you may always ask, ‘Am I free to go?’ repeatedly until they answer you.”
Mamdani further emphasizes that anyone is “legally allowed to film” ICE agents — so long as they do not impede an arrest.
“New Yorkers have a constitutional right to protest, and when I’m mayor, we will protect that right. New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support, and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters.”
Nonetheless, illegal aliens are not allowed to flee from any lawful ICE arrest, and they’re also not legally allowed to resist enforcement once detained. Federal law mandates deportation for those without lawful status. Sanctuary policies do not alter or override federal criminal laws prohibiting flight or resistance during a lawful ICE arrest, nor do they exempt illegals from mandatory deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Mamdani’s renewed calls to stand up to President Trump’s mass deportation campaign follow his surprisingly friendly Oval Office meeting with the president last month, in which the two leaders shared their desire for a safer, more affordable New York City.
During the meeting, Trump expressed that he hopes Mamdani will be a “really great mayor.”
“I shared with the president directly that New Yorkers want to follow the laws of our city, and the laws of our city say that, in our sanctuary city policies, city government can be in touch with the federal government on around 170 serious crimes,” Mamdani told a local Bronx church last month.
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