Mamdani Fires Back After Trump DHS Chief Threatens Sanctuary Flights

Mamdani fires – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani responded sharply after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened to stop processing international flights into sanctuary cities. Mamdani said the city’s immigration approach is rooted in safety and values, and

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani didn’t just dodge Markwayne Mullin’s warning—he met it head on.

On Thursday. Mamdani returned fire after the Homeland Security secretary threatened to halt the processing of international flights into the airports of sanctuary cities. On “The Briefing with Jen Psaki. ” Mamdani framed the confrontation in moral terms. saying New York’s policies were never meant to be leveraged.

“Our laws and our values are not bargaining chips,” Mamdani said. “We will not be threatened to leave so many of the New Yorkers, who call this city home, prey to these kinds of cruel policies. We are proud of the fact that we are a sanctuary city.”

He expanded that defense by linking the sanctuary approach to public safety and to the city’s immigrant population. “We’re proud of that for a number of reasons. One, it is a policy designed to keep New Yorkers safe. Two. we know that here in our city. we are proud of the more than 3 million New Yorkers who are immigrants. I’m one of them.”.

The threat from Mullin landed after renewed attention on conditions surrounding immigration enforcement in New Jersey. Psaki pointed to the fact that Mullin’s warning followed protests outside the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center. where there have been reports of hunger strikes and poor conditions inside the facility.

The Delaney protests surged earlier this week after Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who said he spoke with “dozens” of hunger strike participants and detainees, was injured by pepper spray deployed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Monday.

Mullin had already signaled his intent on Tuesday, when he appeared on Fox News. He said he “visited with the White House” about the protests and argued the federal government should respond by restricting international flight processing tied to sanctuary cities. His claim was that in sanctuary cities—where “the local. radical left Democrats aren’t allowing us to do our job and enforce federal laws”—international flights into those cities should not be processed.

On Thursday, the discussion turned to whether Mamdani had spoken with President Trump about Mullin’s threat. Psaki asked the mayor whether he had discussed the issue with the president, noting that Mamdani has also met with Trump—cordially—on multiple occasions.

Mamdani said he preferred to keep details of those conversations tight. but he was clear about how he draws the line when it comes to ICE. “But what I will say. Jen. is that when I’ve had those conversations with the president. I have made clear. as you’ve said. that I view ICE actions to be cruel and inhumane. ” the mayor told Psaki. “These are not actions that serve any interest of public safety.”.

He also accused ICE of acting without restraint. Mamdani said ICE is “operating with impunity” in New York City and elsewhere around the country, and he described how his constituents often don’t understand what could place them at risk—“aside from simply existing in the city they call home.”

That’s where the fight now sits: Mullin’s threat centers on enforcing federal laws, while Mamdani argues the enforcement itself—especially the actions associated with ICE—has become the danger.

Zohran Mamdani Markwayne Mullin DHS ICE sanctuary cities international flights Delaney Hall Andy Kim hunger strike protests New York City Trump administration Homeland Security