Mamdani doubles down on abolishing ICE after agitators protest agents getting treatment for illegal immigrant
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on his position to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after agitators protested agents outside a Brooklyn hospital over the weekend.
The protest occurred while an illegal immigrant was receiving treatment over the weekend for injuries sustained while allegedly attempting to attack authorities.
Mamdani, a frequent critic of ICE and the Trump administration’s deportation agenda, voiced his opposition after a video circulated online showing a New York police officer throwing a protester to the ground outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mamdani stated there was no coordination between the NYPD and ICE, noting that officers were specifically responding to the protest outside the hospital.
SOCIALIST MAYOR MAMDANI BASHES ICE AFTER CHAOTIC PROTEST LEADS TO ARRESTS: ‘CRUEL AND INHUMANE’
"I've made it very clear that our laws leave no room for interpretation: our NYPD will not participate in civil immigration enforcement," he said. "And I've also been very clear about my views on ICE raids as a whole. I think they are cruel."
The mayor then referenced the arrest of Chidozie Wilson Okeke, a Nigerian national who overstayed his visa and has previous arrests for assault and drug possession, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Okeke was detained "by armed federal agents without any active warrant," Mamdani said. "And this is incredibly concerning. It's why I've said time and again that I believe ICE should be abolished."
According to officials, during the encounter with federal agents, Okeke refused to comply with commands to exit his car and attempted to strike agents with the vehicle. He is accused of being "physically combative" and attempting to punch and elbow agents.
"Our officers followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest," DHS said in a statement.
Following the arrest, Okeke was taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center for a medical evaluation. DHS reported that Okeke "remained non-compliant during the medical evaluation, throwing himself to the floor and screaming," though he was eventually cleared by medical staff.
Okeke originally entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2023 and had been required to leave the country by February 26, 2024.
Video footage shows ICE agents dragging Okeke out of the hospital following his evaluation. During his time inside, a crowd of around 150 anti-ICE protesters gathered outside. DHS stated that the group damaged several ICE vehicles and assaulted agents, resulting in minor injuries.
Six protesters, Sharon Freystaetter, Presleigh Hayashida, Chloe Sells, Tomas Laster, Jennifer Hansen and Caswell Parker, are all charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree obstructing governmental administration. Additionally, all but Sells are also charged with resisting arrest.
Freystaetter and Hayashida were allegedly observed throwing garbage cans onto the street, causing vehicles to abruptly stop, Meanwhile, Hansen struck the rear window of an ICE vehicle with her closed fist, causing the window to shatter before the vehicle drove away, authorities said.
Around the same time, Sells allegedly struck the rear window of a marked NYPD vehicle with her closed fist and placed a used sanitary pad on the vehicle.
Mamdani emphasized that the U.S. immigration response needs to have "humanity as part of it, as opposed to simply a footnote."
Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor's office, as well as ICE and DHS, for further comment.