New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted Spanish-language tips on dealing with ICE that rocketed past 7 million views and drew conservative charges of treason against lawful enforcement.
Fox News Digital reported that the socialist mayor of the nation’s largest city used his official X account to tell residents how to handle Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, framing the moment as one of fear and resistance rather than compliance with federal law.
The Friday post opened with a clear pitch: “If you encounter ICE, here’s what every New Yorker should know.” It stressed that agents “cannot enter private spaces like your home, school, hospitals or private areas of a workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge,” added right-to-remain-silent guidance, and warned that “these are very frightening times for many people.”
The message was delivered in Spanish. It racked up more than 7 million views. And it landed amid Mamdani’s broader campaign to weaken cooperation with federal immigration enforcement in New York City.
Republican officials and commentators treated the post as a how-to for people here illegally, not a neutral public-safety bulletin.
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, put the citizenship angle front and center.
"It should be insulting to every American that the mayor of our largest city is a guy who became a citizen less than a decade ago and now spends his time coaching illegal aliens in a foreign language on how they can avoid being lawfully deported"
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, zeroed in on what the video never said.
"At no point in this video is anyone urged to abide by the laws of the United States," "Because it was not made for the benefit of the people of the United States."
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., stripped the soft language away in two lines.
"If you're here illegally, you're not a New Yorker," "Period."
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, answered with a single word: “Treason.”
Actor Dean Cain added that lawful residents have nothing to fear: “Unless you’re here illegally, you have no reason to fear ICE.” He called Mamdani “dangerous.” Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren described foreign-born Democrats “instructing illegals how to evade the law and remain in our country.” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton labeled the post “dangerous incitement full of disturbing falsehoods” and warned it “could put lives in danger.”
The guidance did not appear in a vacuum. Mamdani had already accused ICE of terrorizing New Yorkers after an agency officer shot a man during an operation in the Bronx. The man’s 5-year-old son was in the vehicle.
Mamdani held a press conference at the shooting site. He branded ICE a “rogue” agency and claimed agents treat the law as “merely a suggestion.” He has called for abolishing ICE both on the campaign trail and after taking office. He also said the NYPD would not assist ICE with civil immigration enforcement.
That is the policy backdrop for a mayor telling the city, in Spanish, how to manage encounters with federal officers sworn to remove people who have no legal right to stay.
As mayor, Mamdani signed an executive order that hardened New York City’s sanctuary stance. The order directs city agencies to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, protect personal information, and set protocols for ICE requests to reach city property or records. It also expands “know your rights” materials and training for city employees, the same theme as the viral X post.
In plain terms, City Hall is telling its workforce to keep federal immigration enforcement at arm’s length while the mayor publicly coaches residents on how to respond when agents show up. Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment; no response appears in the reporting.
Supporters cast this as protecting immigrant communities in “frightening times.” Critics see a mayor of a global city using his platform and city machinery to frustrate the same laws every other American city is expected to respect.
ICE exists to enforce immigration statutes Congress already wrote. A judicial warrant is a real legal threshold for certain entries; nobody serious disputes that. What the backlash seized on was the package deal: Spanish-language coaching, sanctuary non-cooperation, “abolish ICE” rhetoric, and “rogue” smears after a field shooting, without a matching push for people here illegally to comply, leave, or pursue lawful status the ordinary way.
Lee’s point still sits at the center. The video did not urge anyone to follow U.S. law. Gill’s point sits beside it. The mayor of the largest U.S. city spent political capital explaining how to avoid lawful removal. Mace’s point closes the loop. Illegal presence does not mint a new class of “New Yorker” beyond the reach of federal authority.
Millions of views later, the argument is no longer theoretical. Voters can see the trade in daylight: city power deployed to slow immigration enforcement, paired with public messaging that treats ICE as the threat.
A mayor’s first duty is to the lawful residents and taxpayers who expect the laws on the books to mean something, not to build a municipal shield around those who entered or stayed in violation of them.
