Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave his first address as mayor to the city’s faith leaders at the annual Interfaith Breakfast at the flagship location of the New York Public Library in Manhattan Friday.
“I look around this room and I see the faces of friends I have marched with through searing heat and bracing cold. People I’ve mourned alongside, celebrated alongside, organized alongside. And I see so many others I only just met,” he said.
What You Need To Know
Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave his first address as mayor to the city’s faith leaders at the annual Interfaith Breakfast at the flagship location of the New York Public Library in Manhattan Friday
As the city’s first Muslim mayor, Mamdani was eager to talk about his diverse background
The remarks culminated in Mamdani announcing a new executive order reaffirming the city’s protection of undocumented immigrants
The order makes clear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents cannot access city properties, including schools, hospitals, shelters and parking garages, without judicial warrants
As the city’s first Muslim mayor, Mamdani was eager to talk about his diverse background.
“I was raised in New York City as a Muslim kid with a Hindu mother. I celebrated Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha with my family, with diyas in Riverside Park for Diwali.”
It was a message of compassion and love that Mamdani wanted to deliver. He called on the faith leaders in the room to defend the city’s massive immigrant population.
“I think of Deuteronomy 10:17 to 18, which describes the Lord as wonderful and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the orphan and the widow and loves the stranger residing among you,” Mamdani said. “Guns drawn against the unarmed. Families torn apart. Lives shattered quietly, swiftly, brutally. If these are not attacks on the stranger amongst us, what is.”
The remarks culminated in Mamdani announcing a new executive order reaffirming the city’s protection of undocumented immigrants.
The order makes clear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents cannot access city properties, including schools, hospitals, shelters and parking garages, without judicial warrants.
The order will also require city agencies to conduct an audit of their policies regarding interactions with immigration authorities.
“People needed to be reminded that we are stronger when we treat each other with dignity,” Brooklyn Democratic Councilmember Shahana Hanif said.
Hanif said she’s proud of the mayor sending a statement about ICE not being welcomed in the city.
The administration also passed out “Know Your Rights” pamphlets to attendees to take back to their congregations.
“I hope that Trump has enough good sense to know that New York is a different kind of animal and that if there’s been resistance in other places, the resistance in New York will be major,” Mamdani said. “To me, it’s never a question of why are faith communities so strongly opening up to be sanctuaries; it’s how can anyone ever think otherwise.”