NYC Mayor Threatens Lawsuit Over ICE Use of City Lots

Clear Facts

• New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sent a letter threatening legal action against the Trump administration over ICE agents using city-owned parking lots for enforcement operations.
• The letter claims the use of city property is unauthorized and demands ICE immediately stop staging operations in lots at Van Cortlandt Park and Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
• Mamdani has previously called for ICE to be abolished and has urged private property owners to refuse cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is threatening to sue the Trump administration over reports that ICE agents have used city-owned parking lots to stage immigration enforcement operations.

In a letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, acting ICE Director David Venturella and ICE New York field office Director Kenneth Genalo, the mayor expressed deep concern about federal agents using city property without permission.

“This use of City property in furtherance of federal immigration enforcement is unauthorized and is therefore illegal, endangers City residents, and sows fear among those who seek to access City property,” Mamdani wrote. “If your agents continue any unauthorized use of these lots, New York City will take legal action to prevent this unlawful commandeering of City property.”

The mayor identified specific locations including a parking lot at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and several lots along 111th Street at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, which sit near a city-run preschool and cultural institutions.

“ICE has not secured any authorization from the City to use these lots for immigration enforcement. To be clear: The City does not authorize ICE using its property in this manner,” Mamdani stated.

“Parking lots connected to City parks are reserved for the safe use and enjoyment of New Yorkers and visitors who wish to use our parks,” he continued. “Use of these lots for other purposes, including ICE’s reported use of these lots, amounts to unauthorized activity on City property.”

The mayor also demanded that federal officials issue immediate guidance prohibiting agents from using any city lots for staging or conducting enforcement operations.

Mamdani emphasized that New York City values its immigrant communities and will continue using lawful means to ensure their safety and ability to navigate city resources without fear.

Last month, the mayor and other New York Democratic leaders urged private parking lot owners to ban ICE from their properties, asking them not to rent, lend or otherwise make property available to ICE as staging areas.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined more than 100 elected officials in signing Mamdani’s October letter to property owners.

Mamdani has repeatedly called for ICE to be abolished, including after incidents involving ICE agents in Houston and New York City earlier this year.

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