New York State Democratic Senator Julia Salazar called for the abolition of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a campaign rally, and the entire crowd of Democrats agreed. The rally was for NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a controversial socialist currently leading in the polls by 10 points.
Speaking to a packed crowd at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens on Sunday, Salazar yelled behind the microphone: “Is it radical to fight to abolish ICE?” Mamdani’s supporters fired back, responding in unison, “No!” ICE is a federal law enforcement agency tasked with immigration enforcement.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Senator Bernie Sanders, both socialists, also attended the rally, intended to kick off early voting in the Big Apple. Election Day is scheduled for November 4. Many high-profile Democrats have backed Mamdani as well.
AOC, whose district contains portions of Queens and the Bronx, told the crowd that voting for Mamdani “will send a loud message to President Donald Trump that his authoritarianism is no good here.”
Senator Sanders added, “People all over the world are paying attention to what will happen here on Tuesday. These are not normal times…this election takes place at a time when we have a president who has given a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the top one percent.”
Mamdani, a 34-year-old current state assemblyman, is running on a socialist platform that includes city-owned grocery stores, rent control, free buses, free childcare, and increasing taxes on the wealthy. He has come under fire for previously failing to condemn the Hamas terror group and for his long history of anti-police rhetoric. He recently leaned into the idea that Muslims were victimized by Islamophobia following the Islamic extremist terror attacks on New York City in 2001.
Hellbound and Down 