# Mamdani's Spanish-Language Video on Dealing With ICE Draws Fire From Republicans, Who Say It Helps Illegal Immigrants Evade Agents

The New York City mayor posted a minute and a half of tips on judicial orders, staying silent and calling a legal hotline. Sens. Mike Lee, Rick Scott and Bernie Moreno and Rep. Nick LaLota criticized it.

- Section: [Border & Security](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/border-security/)
- Published: 2026-10-24
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/mamdani-spanish-video-ice-rights-republicans-call-it-helping-illegals-evade-ice/

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a social media video on Friday in which he explains, in Spanish, how people should handle encounters with federal immigration agents. Republicans quickly attacked it, the New York Post reports.

What the video says. According to the Post, Mamdani opens with "If you encounter ICE, these are your rights." He says agents "cannot legally enter private spaces without a judicial order" and tells viewers to look for the words "United States District Court" and a judge's signature, even asking agents to "pass the order under the door." He adds that anyone questioned on the street can stay silent, can ask "Am I free to go?" and should not sign anything before talking to a lawyer. He gives the city's legal support hotline and ends by saying New Yorkers have "the right to protest."

The backlash. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X: "At no point in this video is anyone urged to abide by the laws of the United States." Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton called it "dangerous incitement." Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said "The Mayor of New York is openly helping illegal aliens evade [ICE] and undermine the law." Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., said Mamdani used "taxpayer resources to instruct illegals, in Spanish, how to evade accountability." Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, replied with one word: "Treason."

The backdrop. The Washington Examiner says the video followed Mamdani's criticism of ICE's detention of a Dominican national, Oscar Belgal, whom federal agents shot in the neck earlier this month while trying to detain him in New York. Officials say Belgal survived, had two prior arrests in the city and is linked to the Dominican American Trinitarios gang. The Examiner notes Mamdani has long called for ICE to be abolished.

Note for readers: we have not watched the video and rely on the Post's description of it. The Post's account does not include a response from Mamdani's office, and the quoted criticism comes from Republican officials and conservative commentators.

## Source

Original reporting: [New York Post (with Washington Examiner)](https://nypost.com/2026/10/24/us-news/mamdani-accused-of-openly-helping-illegal-aliens-evade-ice-in-spanish-language-video/)