New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is challenging the federal government’s immigration plans.
At a Monday, September 14, press conference at City Hall, the 34-year-old mayor announced that the city filed a lawsuit — alongside a separate challenge from New York Attorney General Letitia James — to push back on President Donald Trump‘s administration’s new public charge rule.
“Just last month, the federal government finalized a set of drastic and unlawful changes to our country’s public charge rule. A rule that makes it possible for someone to be denied immigration status based on the likelihood of their need for public benefits,” Mamdani explained in the press conference, which was posted on YouTube. “Set to go into effect this coming Friday, September 18th, the new public charge rules expand the list of public benefits that might count against green card or visa applicants.”
In a statement shared on the nyc.gov website, Mamdani said that “New York City is proud to lead a coalition of cities and counties — Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Seattle, King County and the Public Rights Project — standing firmly against this cruel and unlawful rule.”
The politician asserted that “the new public charge rule seeks to push immigrant families away from the programs that have kept people fed and healthy for decades.”
“New Yorkers will be afraid to see a doctor or ask for help they are legally entitled to,” Mamdani predicted. “That fear will not stop at the families that the federal government is targeting. Families who remain fully eligible for benefits will feel a chilling effect, and all New Yorkers will pay for it.”
This story NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Leads Coalition in Suing Trump Administration for ‘Cruel’ Immigration Rule first appeared on Globe. Follow Globe on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.