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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem delivered a pointed rebuttal to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s accusation that ICE is “abduct[ing]” immigrants, telling Fox News that his rhetoric ignores the agency’s critical role in getting dangerous criminals off the streets.
“I can’t even imagine how the people of New York City feel listening to that, knowing that if he were elected as mayor, that they would have to continue to live with the dangerous criminals that are on their streets terrorizing that city right now,” she said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends.”
“Literally hundreds and hundreds of [criminal illegal immigrants] have been removed already in New York City because of President Trump’s leadership. We need to continue to do that work, and we need a mayor that will work with us and have our backs when we’re out there making sure we’re going after those individuals.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended ICE during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Noem insisted that the Big Apple would be a “train wreck” under the Democratic socialist’s leadership and such a debacle would leave families “nowhere to go for help.”
Mamdani told the congregation at the Greater Allen Cathedral of New York on Sunday that the “authoritarian” Trump administration has created a “dark moment” to be a “stranger” in the U.S. He accused the administration of setting the stage for immigrant “abductions” by dispatching mass agents to carry out the task.
TRUMP CAUTIONS THAT NY WILL ‘NEVER BE THE SAME’ IF ‘COMMUNIST’ MAMDANI IS ELECTED
New York City mayoral candidate and Democratic State Representative Zohran Mamdani campaigns in New York City on April 16, 2025. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
“That is not justice. It is cruelty, and it is criminal,” he said.
“These are our neighbors. These are people who are guilty of only wanting a field of their own to harvest.”
Mamdani’s politically-charged sermon also contained a push to justify his campaign platform.
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The Democratic candidate’s proposals for city-run grocery stores, free buses, rent controls and more have raised eyebrows among some who believe the policies would be unsustainable.
Voters will be asked in November to choose between Mamdani and rivaling candidates: Republican Curtis Sliwa, and Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who have both launched independent bids.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller and Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report.
