Calls for the deportation of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani are growing louder among Republicans. While Mamdani himself has vowed to expel the ‘fascist’ US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out from the city properties. President Donald Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan warned against it, saying, “Good luck with that.” New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) speaks to supporters during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City. (AFP)

“It’s game on,” Homan told Fox News, a day after Mamdani declared victory over former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman from Queens and a Democratic socialist, had made immigration reform a central part of his campaign. His platform promises to “kick the fascist ICE out” and strengthen New York’s sanctuary city protections by cutting off cooperation with federal agents, boosting legal aid, and safeguarding immigrants’ data.

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“Zohran Mamdani will fight Trump’s attempts to gouge the working class and deliver a city where everyone can afford a dignified life,” reads a statement on his campaign website.

Homan responded by saying Mamdani’s proposals carry no legal weight.

“Good luck with that, federal law trumps him every day, every hour of every minute,” Homan said. “We’re going to be in New York City, matter of fact, because it’s a sanctuary city and President Trump made it clear a week and a half ago — we’re going to double down and triple down on sanctuary cities.”

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According to Homan, ICE operations will increase in New York due to concerns about public safety and national security. He said more agents would be deployed and worksite enforcement would be expanded “tenfold.”

Homan also compared New York to Florida, claiming that cooperation with ICE is smoother in Republican-led states. “We don’t have that problem in Florida, where the sheriffs work with us,” he said. “So we’re going to double up and triple up on New York.”

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He added, “Not only are we going to send more agents to the neighborhood, we are going to increase worksite enforcement tenfold.”

‘Little Muhammad’ needs to be deported

In the latest, Tennessee Republican Congressman Andy Ogles ignited a political firestorm this week after referring to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as “little Muhammad” and calling for his deportation.

“He needs to be DEPORTED,” Ogles wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalisation proceedings.”

In the same post, Ogles labeled Mamdani “an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York.”

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The congressman escalated his rhetoric with a formal letter to attorney general Pam Bondi, urging the Department of Justice to investigate whether Mamdani gained US citizenship through fraud. He cited a 2017 rap lyric by Mamdani referencing the “Holy Land Five” — individuals who led a Muslim charity shut down for illegally funding Hamas in 2008.

Curbing ICE, Mamdani’s one of many plans for New York

While his pledge to remove ICE from city facilities has drawn national attention, it is just one part of a broader agenda. Mamdani’s campaign also promises to establish city-run grocery stores, freeze rent hikes in rent-stabilised apartments, and make city buses free for all. He says these proposals would be funded through a $10 billion tax increase on large businesses and wealthy residents.

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Since 2021, Zohran Mamdani has served as a state assemblyman representing Astoria, Queens. His recent win in the Democratic mayoral primary suggests growing public support for his progressive platform in New York City.