First posted on Instagram
Senator Bernie Moreno on Friday fired back at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after the mayor released a Spanish-language video instructing immigrants on how to respond when approached by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — quote-posting a clip of the video on X and branding the mayor's move 'treason.'
Moreno's entire response was a single word. Quote-posting The Blaze's video of the mayor's message — captioned 'Mamdani instructs aliens in NYC on what they should do if they encounter ICE while speaking entirely in Spanish' — the Ohio Republican wrote simply: 'Treason.' The post went up Friday at 7:00 p.m. and had drawn more than 31,000 views.
In the video, released Friday, Mamdani explains that residents generally have the right to deny ICE agents entry into their homes, schools, houses of worship, and private workplace areas unless officers possess a judicial warrant signed by a judge or another recognized legal exception applies, according to Matzav. The mayor advises residents to demand proper documentation before allowing agents inside and to explicitly refuse permission if the necessary judicial authorization is not presented. The guidance distinguishes between judicial warrants, issued by judges, and administrative immigration warrants, issued by federal immigration authorities themselves — the latter generally do not authorize agents to enter a private home without consent.
Mamdani also instructs residents to remain calm when approached by federal officers, ask whether they are free to leave, and decline consent to searches when they are legally entitled to do so. He encourages individuals to consult an attorney before signing immigration-related documents and directs viewers to free, confidential legal assistance hotlines.
The video lands amid escalating tensions between City Hall and federal immigration authorities following the October 8 shooting in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx, where an ICE agent shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal, a Dominican national, during an attempted arrest, with Belgal's five-year-old son in the vehicle. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at least one federal officer fired seven rounds, striking Belgal in the neck; federal authorities maintain he struck government vehicles after refusing commands to exit, while his attorneys dispute that account. Mamdani denounced ICE as 'rotten to its core,' demanded the agency's operations end in the city, and said he had pressed President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin — unsuccessfully — for Belgal's release.
Mamdani has repeatedly demanded that federal immigration operations cease in New York City and has openly called for the agency's abolition. Friday's video follows a similar message he released in December 2025, shortly before taking office, in which he told New Yorkers: 'We can all stand up to ICE if you know your rights.'