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Mayor Zohran Mamdani is intensifying New York City's resistance to federal immigration enforcement as the Trump administration threatens to dramatically expand ICE operations in the city ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
On Monday, Trump's border czar Tom Homan said he plans to deploy a major influx of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to New York City, warning residents would see "more ICE agents than you've ever seen" after Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation restricting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
Millions of people are expected to travel to the region for the World Cup. Immigrant-rights advocates warn that heightened enforcement could discourage international visitors and deepen fears among immigrant communities.
Mamdani responded on social media by emphasizing the city will protect its immigrants.
"Soccer would not exist without immigrants," the mayor said, noting that immigrants play, coach, staff stadiums and fill the stands. He pledged that the city would not allow ICE operations to sow fear in immigrant communities as New York prepares for the international event.
The exchange is the latest in the public clash between the Trump administration and the mayor, who campaigned on abolishing ICE and has become one of the nation's most vocal critics of federal immigration enforcement.
Beyond his recent statement, the Mamdani administration has spent its first months in office implementing a series of measures aimed at strengthening sanctuary-city protections, limiting cooperation between city agencies and federal immigration authorities and reassuring immigrant workers that they can access services and report workplace abuses without fear of deportation.
One of Mamdani's most significant immigration actions came in February, when he signed Executive Order 13 directing a review of city agencies' compliance with New York City's sanctuary laws.
The order created an Interagency Response Committee and required audits of several agencies, including the NYPD, Department of Correction and others.
A report released in May found that federal immigration enforcement activity had intensified significantly in New York City, including increased arrests, growing use of immigration detainer requests and expanded enforcement activity around shelters and immigration courts.
According to the report, ICE arrested more than 5,500 people in the New York City area between January 2025 and March 2026, roughly 71 percent more than during a comparable period at the end of the previous administration.
The audit also produced a series of citywide recommendations aimed at tightening oversight of interactions between municipal agencies and federal immigration authorities. Under the new guidance, agencies will be required to more comprehensively document and report requests for information, assistance and access from immigration officials, including incidents that previously may not have been disclosed.
The administration also adopted updated protocols governing access to city property, following reports of ICE activity at shelters and other facilities. The new guidance requires additional staff training, clearer procedures for handling requests from federal agents and stronger safeguards against unauthorized entry onto city property.
The review further emphasized protecting New Yorkers' personal data. City officials expanded privacy oversight and training requirements for agencies, while increasing scrutiny of contracts and data-sharing agreements to ensure information collected by city agencies cannot be improperly accessed or used to support federal immigration enforcement
The audit was partly shaped by a series of incidents that raised questions about whether city employees had improperly assisted federal immigration enforcement.
A 2025 Department of Investigation report found that a Department of Correction investigator improperly shared information with Homeland Security Investigations about two people in city custody, helping federal authorities track the release of one detainee who was later arrested by ICE. DOI concluded the violation was not intentional but recommended stronger training and oversight.
In a comment, a DOC spokesperson said the department is "committed to the goals of ensuring the safety and security of all individuals in our care, as well as those working within the City’s jails."
"To be clear," the statement continues, "those goals do not include engaging in conduct that is inconsistent with this City’s sanctuary laws. We are grateful that these incidents were investigated to aid us in assessing any gaps in the implementation of our policies."
A separate DOI investigation identified five previously undisclosed interactions between NYPD officers and federal immigration agents. Investigators found that one officer violated city law and department policy by complying with a request related to civil immigration enforcement. The officer was later removed from a federal task force assignment.
Questions about the boundaries between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities resurfaced this spring after an ICE arrest in Brooklyn sparked protests.
After the incident, Council Member Sandy Nurse, who was present at the protests, said there appeared to be “direct coordination between ICE and the NYPD,” after seeing NYPD officers help facilitate ICE's movement of the individual and protect them from protestors.
Asked about the incident, Mamdani said there should be no coordination between the NYPD and ICE in civil immigration enforcement matters and reiterated that city agencies must comply with sanctuary laws. After the incident, he also reiterated his belief that ICE should be abolished.
The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.
Alongside its efforts to strengthen sanctuary-city policies, the Mamdani administration has sought to protect workers, reassuring them that they can report labor violations and access city services without fear of immigration consequences.
The Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs has expanded multilingual "Know Your Rights" outreach campaigns and resources informing workers of their rights regardless of immigration status. In this vein, agencies have increased efforts to connect workers with legal assistance, labor protections and immigrant serving organizations as federal immigration enforcement has intensified.
Such programs come as labor advocates warn that heightened immigration enforcement can discourage workers from reporting wage theft, unsafe working conditions and other workplace violations. Immigrant workers make up a significant share of the city's workforce in industries including construction, food delivery, home health care and building services, which is where the majority of violations occur.
As immigration enforcement expands under Trump, city officials say preserving trust between immigrant communities and government institutions is essential not only for public safety, but also for protecting workers who form a critical part of New York City's labor force and the city’s economy.
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