Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised to never accept the US Supreme Court’s ruling allowing President Trump’s administration to strip deportation protection for Haitian and Syrian migrants.
“To have people who frankly taught the world about freedom have their own freedom put into jeopardy by the actions of a Supreme Court and federal administration — it is not only cruel, it’s not something we will ever accept,” Hizzoner said in a video statement after Thursday’s bombshell 6-3 ruling.
The high court ruled that the “temporary protected status” statutes don’t allow for judicial review and that lower courts can’t intervene in the Trump administration’s decision to remove deportation protections for more than 6,000 Syrians and 350,000 Haitians living in the US.
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Mamdani immediately rallied with immigration advocates, Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James following the ruling, and released the defiant video message afterward.
“The Supreme Court just sparked one of the largest attacks on immigrants in modern American history. In one fell swoop, thousands of Haitians and Syrians now risk losing the right to live and work in the country they call home,” Mamdani also said in a statement issued by City Hall.
“This decision will cause enormous pain across the five boroughs. Here in New York, it falls hardest on our Haitian community, one of the largest in the country, alongside Syrian families,” the statement said.
“To the tens of thousands of New Yorkers with TPS who are watching the news, frightened about what comes next, hear me clearly: New York City is your home. You belong here. We will not turn our backs on you.”
City Hall said the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs would be sharing “additional information and resources soon.”
“You will not face this cruelty alone. This administration will stand alongside immigrant New Yorkers today, tomorrow, and every day that follows,” Mamdani said.
New York’s sanctuary rules largely prevent local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration laws and operations, or cooperating with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
But Mamdani has boosted the Big Apple’s sanctuary rules since taking office in January.
The mayor signed an executive order in February strengthening sanctuary protections, including a prohibition on ICE entering city property like public schools, homeless shelters and hospitals without a judicial warrant.
