Mamdani calls taxpayer-funded benefits for illegals his greatest victory

FIRST ON FOX: New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, in a resurfaced interview, explained that one of his “greatest victories” as a lawmaker was securing taxpayer funding for unemployment benefits to illegal immigrants.

“When I think of the greatest victories in Albany this year, I think the excluded workers fund, a fund that was created for undocumented workers who were locked out of unemployment at the federal level and at the state level,” Mamdani told SAAG Interactive in June 2021 as an assemblyman from Queens. 

“And what this fund would do is provide some modicum of relief. And this fund was won in many ways because of the pressure brought by those that the state doesn’t even recognize, the state does not even see,” Mamdani continued. “Without the pressure from those individuals, members of the state would never have taken this action because nothing happens because of benevolence, it happens because of pressure, as you know, and these workers made that very clear in the way that they organized and the victories they won.”

On Mamdani’s campaign website, his stated platform suggests he will continue to promote legislation benefitting illegal immigrants in the nation’s largest city. 

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“Donald Trump is tearing at the fabric of New York City in his second term,” the website states. 

“He has deployed ICE agents to pluck New Yorkers from their families. He has sent already-high prices skyrocketing with tariffs. And he has threatened vital social services that working New Yorkers rely on every day. Zohran Mamdani will fight Trump’s attempts to gouge the working class, and deliver a city where everyone can afford a dignified life. He’ll ensure our immigrant New Yorkers are protected by strengthening our sanctuary city apparatus: getting ICE out of all City facilities and ending any cooperation, increasing legal support, and protecting all personal data.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign for comment.

Mamdani recently faced backlash from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for his failure to speak out in the wake of a shooting of a Customs and Border Protection officer in a New York City park. 

“His silence in the face of this brutal attack speaks volumes about where his priorities lie, and it’s not with public safety and the American people,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox News Digital.  

In the same interview with SAAG interactive, Fox News Digital previously reported that Mamdani told the interviewer about his commitment to BDS sanctions against Israel and highlighted his social media history condemning Israel.