First posted on Instagram
CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings has criticised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over videos the mayor posted, saying they send the wrong message on immigration enforcement and on election security. Jennings pointed to Mamdani's ICE videos plus a separate voting video. Jennings said Mamdani's videos told immigrants how to handle encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and then reminded New Yorkers that they do not need photo identification to vote in the city.
"His last 2 videos are instructing illegals on how to evade ICE, and now this one reminding everyone that no ID is required to vote in NYC. They aren't being subtle, folks," Jennings said.
The first video at issue was posted by Mamdani on Friday, October 23, in Spanish, and runs about 90 seconds. In it, the mayor tells New Yorkers what to do if they encounter ICE, explaining that officers generally cannot enter private spaces such as a home, school, hospital or the private area of a workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge. He tells viewers to look for the words "United States District Court" and a judge's signature on any document, and says they can ask officers to pass the order under the door. He also says people questioned on the street have the right to remain silent, can ask officers "Am I free to go?", and should speak to a lawyer before signing anything about their immigration status. The video ends with the city's free immigration legal-support hotline.
The second video is the one Jennings pointed to on voting. In it, Mamdani tells New Yorkers that voting in the city is easy and safe, saying: "In New York City, you don't need to bring anything with you to cast your vote at the polls. We will even give you a pen. Our city's elections are secure." New York generally does not require voters to present photo identification at the polls in most cases, although federal law requires first-time voters who registered by mail and have not previously voted in a federal election in the state to show identification or a document with their name and address.
Jennings was not the only critic. Florida Senator Rick Scott accused Mamdani of "openly helping illegal aliens evade ICE and undermine the law." Utah Senator Mike Lee wrote that at no point in the video was anyone urged to abide by the laws of the United States. New York Representative Nick LaLota said the mayor was using taxpayer resources to instruct people in Spanish on how to evade accountability, and Texas Representative Brandon Gill accused the mayor of coaching people in a foreign language on how to avoid being lawfully deported.
Supporters of the mayor's videos have described them differently, saying they explain legal rights that apply to people on American soil, including the right to refuse entry without a judicial warrant and the right to remain silent. Mamdani himself has said New York City and its police department do not assist in the enforcement of civil immigration law.
The clash comes a week before the November 3 midterm elections, in a continuing dispute between the Trump administration and Democratic-led cities over immigration enforcement and over how states and cities run their elections.