
Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Mamdani condemns deportations of illegal border-crossers and defends sanctuary-city policies.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids strike fear into the immigrant population.
The newly inaugurated leader was given the celebrity treatment during a recent interview on "The View," where the program's left-wing hosts heralded him as a possible savior for not only NYC, but the entire United States.
'We are being asked to not believe our own eyes.'
Looking for Mamdani's direction on ICE raids, host Sunny Hostin (real name Asunción Cummings Hostin) asked the mayor if he thinks the federal government will "target New York" or him as well.
Mamdani started by reiterating his stance that Renee Good — the woman who was shot and killed by the ICE agent she was driving into — was actually murdered.
"People ask me, why did I say the word 'murder'? I ask them to look at that video and tell me what they would call it. We are being asked to not believe our own eyes," he argued.
Instead, Mamdani proposed, "It's time to be truthful with people."
This led to one of several instances in which the Ugandan-born politician claimed he stood his ground on his principles when he met with President Donald Trump in November.
"I've said this directly to the president: that these ICE raids, they are cruel. They are inhumane. They do nothing to deliver that public safety."
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The 34-year-old then pivoted to his city, where he said such raids strike fear into his city's immigrant population. He noted that 26 Federal Plaza, the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building that has a federal immigration court, was once an inspirational location that was associated with "the American dream."
"Now it's the sign of the American nightmare," Mamdani decreed. "It's where people go there for what should be a routine immigration check-in, [and] they don't know if they're going to get detained or deported."
The New York location is where many illegal immigrants are given their final deportation orders and are routinely detained by immigration enforcement outside the courtroom.
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Mamdani was pressed by Hostin about what he would do to stop ICE raids in NYC. The mayor said he would use "every tool" at the city's disposal to "ensure that what we're seeing elsewhere is not what we see in this city."
Sanctuary cities "keep New Yorkers safe," Mamdani said, specifically referring to people he described as committing only the crime of "being in New York City."
Mamdani was able to sidestep responding to host Joy Behar's remarks that legal battles against ICE raids have been unsuccessful in Minnesota, but only because another host brought up ICE agents wearing masks during operations. This gave the mayor a chance to discuss what he believes is another element of "fear" coming from the federal government.
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Andrew Chapados