New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who runs as part of the Democratic Party, threatened to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) alleged use of city-owned parking lots to stage operations to enforce immigration law and detain and deport illegal aliens without authorization from the city.
Mamdani warned of the lawsuit in a letter he addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, acting ICE Director David Venturella, and ICE New York Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo. In the letter the mayor said that he is “deeply troubled” by reports he has received that say ICE agents used “property owned by the City of New York to stage enforcement operations.”
“This use of City property in furtherance of federal immigration enforcement is unauthorized and is therefore illegal, endangers City residents, and sows fear among those who seek to access City property,” Mamdani went on to say in the letter. “If your agents continue any unauthorized use of these lots, New York City will take legal action to prevent this unlawful commandeering of City property.”
According to a report from Fox News, the mayor’s letter said that ICE agents have reportedly been parking their vehicles and holding meetings in several city-owned, unstaffed parking lots, including one that is located at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and several located along 111th Street on the west side of Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.
“ICE has not secured any authorization from the City to use these lots for immigration enforcement. To be clear: the City does not authorize ICE using its property in this manner,” Mamdani continued in the letter. “Parking lots connected to City parks are reserved for the safe use and enjoyment of New Yorkers and visitors who wish to use our parks.”
“Use of these lots for other purposes, including ICE’s reported use of these lots, amounts to unauthorized activity on City property. Accordingly, you must immediately issue guidance to your agents prohibiting them from using any City lots to stage or conduct enforcement operations,” Mamdani added. The mayor then discussed how the city views immigrant communities.
Mamdani wrote that the Big Apple “deeply values its immigrant communities and will continue to use all available lawful means to ensure their safety, well-being, and ability to navigate the City and its resources without fear.” Last month, Mamdani and several other New York Democrats pushed for private parking lots in the city to prohibit ICE from using their properties.
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“In solidarity with immigrant New Yorkers and in our shared commitment to the City we love, we ask that you do not rent, lend or otherwise make your property available to ICE as a staging area for its enforcement operations,” the mayor stated in a letter addressed to property owners and operators. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries were among 100 other elected officials who signed Mamdani’s letter.
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