After ICE agents were reportedly seen staging in City-owned lots, Mayor warns DHS the City will take legal action if ICE continues its unauthorized use of City property
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today demanded that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately stop its unauthorized and therefore illegal use of New York City-owned property to stage immigration enforcement operations, warning that the City will take legal action if agents continue.
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Acting ICE Director David J. Venturella, and ICE New York Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo, the Mayor made clear that the City has not authorized ICE to use its property for immigration-related operations. He called on ICE to issue guidance explicitly prohibiting agents from using City-owned lots to stage or conduct those operations.
ICE agents have reportedly parked vehicles and held meetings in several unstaffed City-owned lots, including a lot at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and lots along 111th Street on the west side of Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. Those Queens lots sit next to a City-run preschool and several cultural institutions that welcome hundreds of children and families every day.
To further safeguard against ICE’s unauthorized use of City property and lots, as part of Executive Order 13, the Mamdani administration has been working with City agencies to update their policies and protocols related to non-local law enforcement attempts to gain access to City property and lots. Alongside issuing the letter to ICE, the administration is also announcing a new NYC Parks policy today for frontline workers, which strengthens the procedures that Parks employees must follow when responding to attempts by non-local law enforcement, including ICE, to access non-public and public areas of Parks property. This new policy and ongoing training will ensure Parks employees are equipped to enforce our local laws and protect Parks spaces for the safe use and enjoyment of all New Yorkers.
“ICE has no right to use our property as a base for tearing families apart. That goes for every park and every lot this City owns. This unauthorized use of City property must end now,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “Today, I’m telling DHS to order its agents off our lots. If they keep coming back, we will see them in court.”
“No family in New York should fear that going to the park or walking through their neighborhood could mean being torn away from their loved ones,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “I am deeply disturbed by reports that ICE is using public property to carry out aggressive immigration enforcement operations. I was proud to sign the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act to prevent local resources from being used for federal civil immigration enforcement, and I stand with Mayor Mamdani in demanding an end to the unauthorized use of City property for these operations.”
Earlier this year, Governor Hochul signed the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act in law, which prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from entering into agreements to carry out federal civil immigration enforcement, ensuring local law enforcement resources remain focused on protecting New Yorkers rather than carrying out federal immigration operations.
"Every person who calls New York City home is a New Yorker, and every one of them deserves to feel safe here," said New York Attorney General Letitia James. "We have a collective responsibility to stand up for our neighbors, and we cannot sit idly by while their rights are ignored. Immigrants built this city, and as long as the Statue of Liberty stands proudly in our harbor, we will continue to protect our friends and neighbors in New York’s immigrant communities.”
“When we say ICE out of New York, we mean it — and we’re not going to let this rogue agency use city property to terrorize our city’s residents,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “While private entities like Target are revealing themselves by failing to condemn ICE’s use of private spaces for staging, the city is sending a strong message about our public spaces, reinforcing our commitment to immigrant New Yorkers and their neighbors.”
"Now that the Department of Homeland Security is clearly on notice regarding its unauthorized use of city lots, there is no excuse for continuing to commandeer city property and we are prepared to go to court if it does not stop,” said NYC Corporation Counsel Steven Banks.
Today’s action follows the Mayor’s October 16th letter, joined by more than 100 elected officials, urging private parking garage and lot owners to deny ICE the use of their property. The letter came after ICE agents recklessly shot Oscar Belgal in Marble Hill while his 5-year-old son sat in the car. Agents had reportedly been staging operations from a private lot a few blocks away.
"Our city parks are our backyard, and both NYC residents and visitors deserve to feel safe when enjoying them," said NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura. "We commend this administration for creating this first-of-its-kind policy to guide and support our frontline Parks staff, while ensuring that our public spaces remain a resource for people of all backgrounds to use without fear."
The full letter is available here. The Parks policy is available here.
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