New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani renewed his call to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), arguing that the agency’s practices are fundamentally flawed and cannot be fixed through reforms.

Speaking on MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” Mamdani was asked about reports that detainees at New Jersey’s Delaney detention facility had launched a hunger strike to protest conditions inside the center.

Co-host Eugene Daniels raised the issue by asking, “Just over the river here in new Jersey, there’s the Delaney facility. There are folks there that are on hunger strike over the conditions. What’s your reaction? And I guess, more importantly for New Yorkers, what prevents a facility like that from opening here in New York?”

Mamdani responded by expressing concern over the conditions reportedly faced by detainees and said the situation reinforced his belief that ICE should be dismantled altogether.

“I think there are a few things. One is a reaction of pain and seeing what people have to go through in these kinds of facilities. And these are conditions that they offend the conscience of so many, not just here in New York City but frankly, across the country. This is partially why I have put forward a vision alongside so many others to say that ICE should be abolished, that there is no way to reform this kind of cruelty that we’re seeing endemic in the way that immigration is being enforced across the country. When it comes to our city, we are proud of our sanctuary city policies. We are proud of the policies we’ve put forward, and also the executive orders we’ve put forward to ensure that every single agency is complying with those policies.”

Mamdani also defended New York City’s sanctuary-city policies, saying city leaders remain committed to limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts and ensuring local agencies follow those directives.

Daniels then questioned whether calls to abolish ICE could hurt Democrats politically, noting that some party leaders in Washington have warned against using such rhetoric.

“What do you say to people who say language? And there’s Democrats in DC who say language like, abolish ICE or unhelpful for the political health of the Democratic Party?”

Mamdani dismissed those concerns, arguing that Democrats should embrace a clearer and more aggressive ideological vision.

“I think if we we’ve listened to them before and look where we are. I think it’s time to develop a new vision for this party, one that is unflinching in its beliefs and also uncompromising in its principles.”

The remarks place Mamdani among the most outspoken progressive voices on immigration policy, as debates continue nationwide over border security, detention facilities, sanctuary-city policies, and the future role of ICE under President Trump’s administration.

{Matzav.com}