New Yorkers sent a resounding message on Election Day: they want a city that fights back against President Trump and protects all New Yorkers, including our immigrant neighbors.
Since Trump took office in January, New Yorkers have seen Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ramp up its operations, disappearing our loved ones and engaging in brutal deportation tactics at federal immigration court, at workplaces and in homes.
But it’s a new day in New York. Zohran Mamdani and the City Council have an opportunity to show real leadership in making life better and safer for everyone who calls the city home. A core part of that agenda must involve protecting the due process rights of all New Yorkers, stopping mass detention and deportation, and strengthening sanctuary laws.
New York’s sanctuary culture goes back to a 1989 Executive Order under Mayor Ed Koch — and affirmed by every mayor since — barring city officials from sharing personal information about immigrants with deportation agents in most circumstances.
Then, a decade ago, New Yorkers expressed a clear consensus that the health and safety of all New Yorkers depend on strengthening this culture by passing sanctuary laws. Election night proved this consensus endures, and that New Yorkers refuse to let our city resources, agencies, and employees be deputized to separate families and detain our neighbors without due process.
Part of that consensus is rooted in racial justice. Black immigrants — who already face disproportionate policing by the NYPD — face some of the harshest consequences of over-policing, detention and deportation.
And the evidence is clear: studies show that these policies improve public safety for every single one of us.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit challenging our sanctuary laws. This was an attempt to seize our local tax dollars to do ICE’s dirty work. Trump has already sent the National Guard into Los Angeles and Portland and has threatened to do the same in New York.
Let’s be clear: flooding our streets with soldiers will sow chaos, fear, and make us all less safe. When any New Yorker who is an immigrant is afraid to leave their homes, afraid to send their kids to school, and afraid to reach out when they need help, we all suffer.
While our outgoing mayor was willing to sacrifice some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers to keep the Trump deportation machine running and keep his federal prosecution for corruption at bay, we need Mamdani to stand up and fight back.
Sanctuary policies have allowed New York’s vibrant communities to flourish and thrive. They have undergone extensive public review and are supported widely by New Yorkers, domestic violence and immigrant organizations, among other stakeholders.
We need rules and regulations that keep city spaces safe for immigrants: we need ICE out of our schools, our shelters and our city buildings if we want New Yorkers to thrive.
Mamdani and the City Council must restore trust and rebuild the unity and community spirit we have lost. They must ensure our local agencies are not colluding in the abduction of our neighbors and separation of families and follow the law — including commissioners, agency heads and workers at every level.
All city agencies need guidance and protocols for robust compliance with sanctuary policies and protection of New Yorkers’ personal information. This is especially true for the Department of Correction and the Police Department where there has long been a culture of xenophobia and impunity and where Black immigrants and immigrants of color are at heightened risk.
Our next mayor and the Council can and must ensure ICE agents are not embedded with the Department of Correction or the NYPD. They must ensure that there is no illegal sharing of New Yorkers’ private data by any city agency with the federal government to protect everyone’s rights and ensure that every New Yorker can access city services without fear.
City leaders must also create mechanisms to enforce our existing sanctuary laws and give people a way to fight back when their rights are trampled. We need to ensure every New Yorker who has contact with the police or the courts, including people who are immigrants, have the due process they are entitled to under the U.S. Constitution.
Mamdani and Council members: New Yorkers have given you a clear mandate to fight and win against ICE’s abuses of power. It’s time to stand up to Trump, protect our neighbors and keep our families together.
Mark-Viverito is the former New York City Council speaker. Paulos is deputy director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. Cohen-Cruz is the immigration policy director at The Bronx Defenders.
