NYC Mayor Mamdani calls for abolishing ICE as anger grows over Renee Good Minneapolis killing

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Jan 20, 2026

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NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday he supports abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the agency escalates its immigration crackdowns across the country.

Mamdani’s, who’s long been a critic of the agency, told the hosts of ABC’s “The View” that ICE is “terrorizing people.”

“I’m tired of waking up every day and seeing a new image of someone being dragged out of a car, dragged out of their home, dragged out of their life,” the mayor said. “What we need to see is humanity, and there is a way to care about immigration in this city and in this country with a sense of humanity.”

Mamdani first said he supported doing away with ICE on the campaign trail in an appearance on MSNBC in which he praised Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as one of the leaders in that call. His comments on Tuesday mark the first time he’s reiterated that stance as mayor.

The mayor last week voiced outrage when a City Council employee was detained by ICE, calling it an “assault on our democracy.”

Aggressive crackdowns in New York and other Democrat-led cities like Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Chicago have incited national outrage. Amid the uproar, the idea that ICE should be done away with, long a largely far-left idea, has slid into more mainstream political conversations.

A national Economist/YouGov poll conducted just days after Renee Good’s killing by ICE in Minneapolis found that 46% of poll takers supported abolishing the agency, with 43% opposed.

Manhattan Rep. Dan Goldman, who’s facing a competitive Democratic primary challenge from former city Comptroller Brad Lander, said over the weekend that it’s time to “tear down” ICE.

Still, many politicians remain cautious despite being critical of the agency. That includes Gov. Kathy Hochul, who last week in an interview with Fox5 said that she does not want ICE abolished.

Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition and an ally of Mamdani’s, praised the mayor’s stance.

“The Trump administration has destroyed what was left of the working part of the immigration system, and now it’s time to rethink the entire immigration system, not just ICE,” Awawdeh told the Daily News.

“People are starting to question, are we even a democracy anymore or are we living in a fascist regime?”

Spokesmen for ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“You know, it’s really nice to have you here. You make sense,” “View” host Whoopi Goldberg told Mamdani at the end of Mamdani’s Tuesday interview.

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