NYC Mayor Mamdani Warns of Lawsuit Over ICE Use of City Lots
The city plans to block agents without warrants after vehicles were spotted at parking areas near a preschool and a science museum.
By Fatima Davis ·
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a formal threat of legal action against the Department of Homeland Security on Sunday.
The move responds to the use of city-owned parking lots by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since July. Those locations include a lot in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and another on 111th Street in Queens.
The Queens lot sits adjacent to the New York Hall of Science and a city-run preschool. Mamdani's letter to the Trump administration alleges that agents parked vehicles and held meetings in these areas. In response, city officials instructed Parks Department staff to deny entry to ICE officers unless they present a judicial warrant.
Employees were also told to notify city lawyers and avoid physical or verbal altercations with the agents. Mamdani argued that ICE has no right to use city property as a base for operations that separate families.
"Today, I'm telling DHS to order its agents off our lots," Mamdani stated. "If they keep coming back, we will see them in court."
DHS countered that the presence in public lots is standard practice for law enforcement nationwide. The department stated that Mayor Mamdani should be grateful to officers for cleaning up the streets since he has not.
Source: ABC7 New York
