Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist, hasn’t taken office yet. But he’s already looking to “Trump-proof” New York City.
Zohran Mamdani addresses Trump in speech after mayoral race win
After winning the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani had just four words for President Donald Trump.
NEW YORK − New York’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, said on Nov. 5 the city’s residents were facing twin crises.
There was affordability, the 34-year-old democratic socialist said in his first news conference since winning the election the night before. Then there was what he called “an authoritarian administration” under President Donald Trump.
“It’ll be my job to deliver on both,” Mamdani said. “It will be my job to stand up for the city.”
Trump, a Queens native, has loomed over the election in his hometown, and he has threatened to punish New York with measures such as cutting the city’s funds if voters elected Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens. If Mamdani became mayor, Trump recently said it would be hard for him to give “a lot of money” to New York, adding Mamdani would waste the money with his left-leaning politics.
Mamdani has vowed to fight back in court when he takes office in January.
Here’s a rundown of what Trump could do to the nation’s largest city, and what Mamdani can do in response to − as his campaign platform promised − “Trump-proof” New York.
Deploy National Guard
In contrast to some of the other largest cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, New York has been untouched by the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard. Trump could try deploying troops to city streets.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat, has had National Guard at subway stations to reduce transit crime, but has reportedly been preparing to push back on Trump deploying troops into the city.
Lame-duck Mayor Eric Adams forged a bond with Trump after the Justice Department dropped federal corruption charges against Adams so he could help with Trump’s immigration crackdown.
In contrast, Mamdani has discussed forming a coalition with state officials, including Trump’s nemesis, New York Attorney General Letitia James, to sue the federal government if troops get sent. He’s cited the success by LA Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom in lawsuits that blocked Trump’s National Guard deployment in California.
Large-scale immigration raids
Other Democratic cities such as Chicago, LA and Boston have seen sweeping immigration raids on streets, construction sites and businesses.
New York had highly publicized immigration enforcement operations shortly after Trump’s return to office, but has not had the same scale of enforcement. There was a recent chaotic immigration raid by federal agents on street vendors allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise in lower Manhattan.
Federal agents have targeted people attending immigration court or Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins at a Manhattan federal building. The federal actions have sometimes resulted in violence against migrants, including one woman thrown to the ground by an agent.
Mamdani said he’d hold federal agents carrying out Trump’s immigration enforcement to the same legal standard as anyone else, implying that ICE agents could be arrested for assaulting New Yorkers.
“If you violate the law, you must be held accountable,” he said. “And there is sadly a sense that is growing across this country that certain people are allowed to violate that law, whether they be the president or whether they be the agents themselves.”
Mamdani has vowed to make New York the nation’s strongest sanctuary city, which broadly means limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Mamdani has also called to invest $165 million to fund immigration legal defense services. He’s said his administration would survey every city system to protect sensitive data of undocumented people and others.
Behind the scenes, state officials and business leaders are reportedly trying to prevent raids. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie in October successfully persuaded the Trump administration not to conduct enforcement in the California city.
Cut federal funds to NYC
Early in Trump’s second term, Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency revoked $80 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. Adams’ City Hall has sued the administration for the funding.
Months later, the federal Department of Transportation said it was halting funds to the nation’s largest infrastructure project, which would bolster the busiest U.S. rail corridor underneath the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan, as well as the Second Avenue Subway, also in Manhattan. Withholding about $18 billion, federal officials cited the New York City’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, an equity initiative meant to expand participation by racial minorities in federally assisted contracts.
Trump has threatened to slash even more federal funds to the city if Mamdani was elected. In a Nov. 3 Truth Social post, Trump said, “it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home.”
Like other Democratic cities and states that have faced cuts to federal benefits, Mamdani has said the city could mount legal challenges to the cuts to recoup lost funds. Some cities and states have seen some success, such as Fresno, California, and North Carolina.
Arrest America’s mayor
Even before Mamdani won the mayoralty, Trump suggested arresting Mamdani and stripping him of his citizenship if Mamdani didn’t assist on federal immigration enforcement. Mamdani, born in Uganda, moved to the United States as a child and was raised in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights. He became a naturalized citizen in 2018.
Some right-wing members of Trump’s party have called to review Mamdani’s citizenship process in an effort to denaturalize and deport him. Trump has threatened to arrest Democratic elected officials before.
After Mamdani won the election on Nov. 4, he spoke directly to Trump.
“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” he said. “So, hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”
Mamdani’s line drew perhaps the loudest roar throughout the night.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.