'Attempt to divide us': Zohran Mamdani rejects Trump's push for increased ICE presence ahead of World Cup

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticised the Trump administration's plan to ramp up ICE presence in the city just days before the start of the FIFA World Cup. According to Bloomberg, Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, said on Monday that he had informed New York Governor Kathy Hochul of the increased presence of immigration officials last month before she signed a bill curbing operations and banning masked ICE agents in the state.

Taking to X, Mamdani voiced the concerns that several Americans and foreign nationals might be having. He said that soccer would not exist without immigrants and that a significant proportion of the U.S. Men's National Team was comprised of immigrants. He also claimed that he would not allow ICE agents to "sow fear in our communities" ahead of one of the biggest global events today. "As the world comes to our city, we will stand proudly with our immigrant neighbors and reject these attacks for what they are: an attempt to divide us," he added.

Speaking in a Fox News interview, Homan had revealed that the plan to increase immigration officials in the state would soon be made public. "You're going to see more ICE than you've ever seen in New York City, and it's coming," he said. "I just reviewed an operational plan. I'm not going to tell you exactly when it's going to happen, but it's coming."

Mamdani has made no secret of his feelings towards ICE, and he repeated those sentiments in an interview on Monday. "ICE raids are cruel, they are inhumane, they do nothing to serve in the interest of public safety. I have shared that directly with the President, and I have shared that in public. It is a feeling that many New Yorkers share, and I also do believe that ICE as an entity is one that should be abolished," he said.

The New York Mayor questioned several of the Trump administration's decisions related to customs and immigration. Several people involved with the FIFA World Cup competition have been barred from entering the United States, including foreign journalists and coaches of participating teams. Mamdani believes that such decisions were "anathema" to what the tournament was supposed to be. "If we cannot even allow the players, the teams, and the journalists covering those teams to come into this country, it begs the larger question of our commitment to the spirit of this tournament," he said.

Mamdani's criticism comes after news of a Somali referee being denied entry into the United States for officiating World Cup matches came into the spotlight. According to the Associated Press, Somali referee Omar Artan will not be a part of the competition. "Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood, and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career," he said in a statement. "I would like to thank FIFA and (the African federation) for all their support, and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future."