Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, may face arrest if he interferes with immigration enforcement efforts by ICE. Speaking from a newly unveiled immigrant detention facility in Florida dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” Trump called Mamdani a “communist” and suggested, without evidence, that he may be in the U.S. illegally.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman and self-described democratic socialist, won the Democratic primary after a ranked-choice vote count confirmed his lead over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, 56% to 44%. His victory has energized progressive voters while drawing criticism from conservatives nationwide.
In his victory speech, Mamdani pledged to resist what he called “Donald Trump’s fascism” and to use the mayor’s office to block ICE mass deportations. Trump, responding to those remarks, said he would “watch him very closely” and called for an investigation into Mamdani’s immigration status, despite no public evidence that he is in the country unlawfully.
If elected in November, Mamdani would become New York City’s first Muslim mayor and one of the youngest in its history. Born in Uganda, raised in South Africa and New York, Mamdani is the son of academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair.
