(JTA) — Several Democratic candidates for New York City mayor are slamming the ICE arrest on their turf of Mahmoud Khalil, the recent Columbia University graduate and Palestinian protest leader.
One, Comptroller Brad Lander, who is Jewish, referenced a famous poem about the Holocaust in his statement.
But the most prominent candidates in the Democratic primary’s centrist lane, including Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have yet to comment on the arrest.
Khalil is a leader of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a pro-Palestinian protest movement that has endorsed violence, and was arrested early Sunday morning by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and threatened with deportation.
The Department of Homeland Security and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both claimed in statements that Khalil, a legal resident of the United States with a green card, was linked with Hamas. Neither has publicly detailed any formal charges against him.
While several pro-Israel groups praised the arrest, saying that Khalil broke the law, progressive groups and others have expressed alarm, saying that the detention of a legal resident for protest activity is a sign of authoritarianism.
The arrest also comes a few months before the city’s June Democratic mayoral primary, which is almost certain to decide the city’s next mayor. The arrest plays into several issues under debate in the race, including concerns about hate crimes and immigration in the city; whether ICE will have free rein in New York; and how much influence Trump and his policies will have on the solidly Democratic metropolis.
Of the 10 candidates running, half have condemned the arrest, while others have yet to comment. As of Monday early afternoon, none of the candidates has defended the arrest.
Here’s where they stand. This story will be updated as new statements come in.
NYC Comptroller Brad Lander: Lander, a candidate on the party’s progressive wing from Brooklyn, posted on social media:
ICE’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil is an unconstitutional and egregious violation of the First Amendment, and a frightening weaponization of immigration law. I disagree strongly with things that were said in the protests he reportedly led. But it will not make Jews — or any of us — safer for the federal government to deport people for saying things we may find hateful, as Martin Niemoller reminds us:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”
State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani: “The arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil—a green card holder whose wife is eight months pregnant—is a blatant assault on the First Amendment and a sign of advancing authoritarianism under Trump. He must be released now,” Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens, posted on social media above a statement condemning the arrest from Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a progressive group.
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie: “This chilling action by the Trump administration crosses another line towards authoritarianism. ICE has no right to detain a green card holder who has not been convicted of, or even charged with, any crime. This is profoundly un-American, and Khalil must be released,” Myrie, a progressive from Brooklyn who previously condemned pro-Palestinian vandalism in his borough, posted on social media.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos: Ramos, a progressive from Queens, said in a statement:
As the daughter of formerly undocumented immigrants, my family knows the fear of having a loved one snatched without warning first-hand. My father was taken by ICE in the 1980s when I was just a baby. My mother spent days terrified for his well-being. Mahmoud Khalil is a green card holder whose wife is a US citizen and 8 months pregnant. The Trump administration offered no serious legal justification for Khalil’s detention, instead citing a Trump executive order. We know from history that abuse of detention powers are a hallmark of authoritarian regimes. Contrary to his own belief, Trump is not a king. His actions are a threat to all of us, even those who disagree with Khalil’s speech. I demand the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil.
Adrienne Adams, New York City Council Speaker: “Federal authorities’ detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident with a green card, is blatant authoritarianism. This is a civil rights issue and an astounding overreach that disregards the US Constitution. It should concern every American and cannot be allowed to stand,” Adams, a moderate, posted on social media.
No comments on the deportation
Mayor Eric Adams: Adams’ press office declined to comment on the arrest. Asked about the arrest at a press conference focused on gun violence Monday, Adams said only, “If he has a gun, he needs to go.” (There is no evidence or suggestion that Khalil had a gun.)
Former NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer: Stringer, who is Jewish, declined to comment on the arrest.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo: A representative for Cuomo has not responded to a request for comment.
Former Barack Obama aide Michael Blake: Blake’s office has not responded to a request for comment.
Philanthropist Whitney Tilson: Tilson’s office has not responded to a request for comment. The former hedge fund manager and charter school advocate was an early critic of Harvard University, his alma mater, over its handling of antisemitism after October 7.