‘This is sedition!’ Mamdani’s Spanish-language ICE video sparks furious backlash

THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?

SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a Spanish-language video Friday explaining how residents can refuse entry to ICE agents without a judicial warrant and what to say during street encounters.
Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Mike Lee blasted the video, while Rep. Nick LaLota accused Mamdani of using taxpayer resources to help illegal immigrants evade accountability.
Conservative commentator DC_Draino went further, declaring, “This is sedition,” as the video ignited a growing political firestorm.

LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has added a new item to his municipal agenda: a Spanish-language tutorial on what to do when Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes knocking.

And judging by the reaction in Washington, he may have knocked on a hornet’s nest himself.

The Democratic socialist mayor released a roughly 90-second video Friday advising New Yorkers about their rights during encounters with federal immigration agents, including how to refuse entry into private spaces and what to say if questioned on the street.

His message began in Spanish: “Si te encuentras con ICE, estos son tus derechos.”

Translation: If you encounter ICE, these are your rights.

Mamdani explained that agents generally need a judicial warrant to enter private spaces without consent, advising viewers to check for a judge’s signature and identification of a federal district court.

If agents lack the necessary warrant, Mamdani advised, residents can keep the door closed and refuse consent to enter.

He also told viewers they have the right to remain silent, suggested asking officers whether they are free to leave and encouraged speaking with an attorney before signing immigration documents.

The mayor included information about New York City’s free immigration legal-support hotline.

For Mamdani, it was another installment in his administration’s ongoing campaign against federal immigration enforcement.

For several Republican lawmakers, it was something considerably more troubling.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott wasted little time responding.

“Unbelievable,” Scott wrote on X, accusing Mamdani of helping illegal immigrants evade ICE and undermine federal law.

Scott followed with a broader attack on Democratic immigration policies, arguing that the party was attempting to recreate the border problems of the Biden administration.

New York Republican Rep. Nick LaLota was equally unimpressed.

“NYC is becoming more like Paris every day,” LaLota wrote.

He accused the mayor of using taxpayer resources to instruct people in the country illegally on how to avoid accountability.

LaLota also criticized sanctuary-city policies and public assistance provided to migrants, arguing that those choices have consequences for New Yorkers.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee focused on what the video didn’t say.

“At no point in this video is anyone urged to abide by the laws of the United States,” Lee wrote.

“Because it was not made for the benefit of the people of the United States.”

Then came an accusation that raised the temperature considerably.

Conservative commentator DC_Draino declared, “This is not free speech. This is sedition.”

He alleged that Mamdani was helping illegal immigrants avoid ICE for political purposes. His post also alleged that the video was intended to facilitate illegal voting, without presenting supporting evidence.

Other prominent conservative voices joined the criticism.

Commentator Nick Sortor accused the mayor of coaching illegal immigrants to evade federal agents and demanded that his security clearance be revoked.

And the dispute made its way onto Fox News, where Jason Chaffetz and Joe Concha discussed the video during Friday night’s Hannity.

“How is this not illegal?” Concha demanded, calling for Mamdani to be brought before Congress.

The argument wasn’t simply about whether individuals have constitutional protections during encounters with law enforcement. Those rights are well established, and New York City already distributes multilingual information explaining them.

The political fight was over the mayor’s decision to personally deliver those instructions amid an escalating confrontation between his administration and federal immigration authorities.

Mamdani has repeatedly called for ICE to be abolished and has defended New York’s sanctuary-city restrictions on cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Earlier this month, he intensified his criticism following an October 8 incident in which an ICE agent shot Dominican national Oscar Belgal in the neck during an attempted detention in Manhattan.

Federal officials said Belgal had a history of arrests and alleged gang connections. The shooting generated protests and renewed criticism of ICE operations in the city.

Against that backdrop, Mamdani’s latest video offered more than a generic public-service reminder: it was a high-profile message from the mayor of America’s largest city about how residents should respond when federal immigration agents appear.

Mamdani, meanwhile, has demonstrated little interest in softening his opposition to Trump’s immigration policies.

His administration has already issued executive orders reinforcing New York’s sanctuary protections and launched a multilingual campaign distributing tens of thousands of immigration-rights materials.

Now the mayor has taken that message directly to social media, in Spanish, with advice on what to do when ICE comes calling.

And judging by the uproar from Washington, he has ensured that plenty of people who don’t speak Spanish got the message, too.