Mamdani Threatens to Sue Over ICE Agents Staging Operations in City-Owned Parking Lots

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat, is threatening legal action against the federal government over where immigration agents park, Fox News reports.

The letter. Mamdani wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, acting ICE Director David Venturella and ICE New York field office Director Kenneth Genalo. He said he is "deeply troubled" by reports that ICE agents are "using property owned by the City of New York to stage enforcement operations," which he called "unauthorized and therefore illegal." He wrote: "If your agents continue any unauthorized use of these lots, New York City will take legal action to prevent this unlawful commandeering of City property."

The lots. According to the letter, agents have reportedly parked vehicles and held meetings in unstaffed city lots, including one at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and lots along 111th Street on the west side of Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, next to a city-run preschool and several cultural institutions. Mamdani demanded that DHS "immediately issue guidance" barring agents from using city lots.

The earlier push. Last month, Mamdani and other New York Democratic leaders asked private parking lot owners not to rent or lend their property to ICE. More than 100 elected officials signed that letter, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Fox notes Mamdani has pushed to abolish ICE, including after two shootings by ICE agents this summer and fall.

What we could not check. The report says Fox asked DHS for comment, and none is included. We have not seen the letter itself, and the reports that agents used these lots are described, not documented, in the story. Whether the city has legal grounds to stop federal agents from parking on its property is not addressed.