Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed Tuesday that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is “absolutely destroying a great city.” Mullin made the remarks during an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” a day after Mamdani renewed his call for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Mamdani was responding to Trump border czar Tom Homan’s warning of an impending surge of immigration agents in NYC. “You’re not going to tell us where we can and cannot enforce our nation’s laws. Because we are not, Sean, picking and choosing which laws we enforce. We enforce the laws that Congress passed,” Mullin told host Sean Hannity.
“And for Mayor Mamdani, who is absolutely destroying a great city like New York, to say that ICE needs to be abolished ... I mean, come on, they’re Immigration [and] Customs Enforcement — that’s their job,” he continued. “So if he wants to have open borders and wants to allow criminals to run their streets, well, his constituents don’t want that.”
Homan threatened to increase the number of immigration agents in New York City during an interview on Fox News on Monday, saying the administration plans to deploy “more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen” in the city, adding, “it’s coming.” In turn, Mamdani slammed ICE at a Monday press conference about the World Cup.
“I want to be very clear about the fact that I believe that ICE raids are cruel, they are inhumane, they do nothing to serve in the interest of public safety. I’ve shared that directly with the president, I’ve shared that in public. It is a feeling that many New Yorkers share,” Mamdani said. ”And I also do believe that ICE, as an entity, is one that should be abolished, and that we should return to an immigration system that has more humanity at the heart of it.”
Mamdani also vowed not to allow ICE to “sow fear in our communities” in an X post on Monday. “As the world comes to our city, we will stand proudly with our immigrant neighbors and reject these attacks for what they are: an attempt to divide us,” he added.
Watch a clip from Mullin’s appearance on “Hannity” below.
