New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is urging members of the Democratic Party to stop listening to their current leaders and instead take a stronger position on immigration policy. Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, said the party needs a new vision that includes calling for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished.
According to Mediaite, Mamdani shared his views during an interview on MS NOW’s The Weekend on June 6, 2026. When asked about the ongoing protests at the Delancey Hall ICE facility in New Jersey, the mayor stood by his position.
He said that “ICE should be abolished,” and he added that “there is no way to reform this kind of cruelty that we’re seeing.” He also pointed out that New York City remains proud of its sanctuary city policies, which he sees as a key part of how the city should deal with immigration.
Mamdani responds to Democrats who warn about the political cost of the language
The conversation then turned to the political risks tied to this kind of language. Co-host Eugene Daniels asked the mayor how he responds to Democrats in Washington D.C. who argue that using phrases like “abolish ice” creates unhelpful friction for the political health of the party.
Mamdani was clearly unconvinced by these concerns from his fellow Democrats. He said, “I think we’ve listened to them before, and look where we are,” suggesting that the party’s current strategy has already failed to bring the results they wanted. His willingness to take controversial public stands is not new, as seen when he marked Nakba Day as a politician, a move that drew strong reactions from some Jewish leaders.
He believes the way forward calls for a change in priorities. According to Mamdani, “I think it’s time to develop a new vision for this party, one that is unflinching in its beliefs and also uncompromising in its principles.”
This push to get rid of the agency comes during a period of heavy tension over national immigration policy. President Donald Trump won his 2024 election largely by promising a major crackdown on illegal immigration. Since returning to the White House, the President has overseen a sharp drop in border crossings during his first year, and he has also sent ICE and Border Patrol agents into several large American cities to detain people who are in the country illegally.
These federal actions have set off strong reactions across the country. Cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis have seen large anti-ICE protests and riots in response to these raids. Some Democratic leaders have spoken out against the President, such as Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who went as far as comparing the ICE raids to Nazi Germany.
The debate within the Democratic Party remains divided. Not every well-known Democrat agrees with the mayor’s vision. Senators like John Fetterman and Ruben Gallego have pushed back against the idea that the party should line up with the abolish ICE movement.
Despite this resistance from high-ranking officials, Mamdani is signaling that he does not plan to back down, saying the party should move past these dissenting voices and take a different direction. The mayor has shown a similar firmness in other settings, including when he set a condition about attending a Knicks game next to Donald Trump.
Published: Jun 7, 2026 07:15 am