Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Conference on Ice Shooting in Marble Hill
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
- 2 passages
- 883 words
- 2026-10-08
Passages
Good evening, everyone. Around 4 p.m. this afternoon, a New Yorker was shot by ICE agents in Marble Hill. Many of the facts surrounding this shooting are still unclear, but here's what we know. ICE agents surrounded the man's vehicle before opening fire. They wore construction vests and masks that concealed their faces. There was no reasonable way to identify them as ICE agents. School had just gotten out. The street was crowded with families and children. When ICE agents opened fire, a 5-year-old child — a 5-year-old child — was in the back seat of the car. Thank God that child is physically unharmed. For the past two hours, I have been on the phone with President Trump and Secretary Mullin negotiating the release of the man ICE agents shot. Those negotiations were unsuccessful. Just moments ago, ICE put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away. Let me say this plainly: What happened today was an outrage. Tonight, a 5-year-old child sits traumatized and terrified. Tonight, millions of our neighbors are wondering whether they will be safe on our streets, in our schools, at their work sites. Tonight, New Yorkers across the five boroughs are asking whether their civil liberties will be respected, whether law and order is supposed to look like a man carrying a long gun, wearing a mask. We know that ICE is rotten to its core. Today's shooting is only further devastating confirmation of what we have long known: that ICE operates with impunity, that they sow chaos and terror across our country, that they have killed far more of our neighbors than they could ever have claimed to save. I also want to say something on a personal note. I stand here not just as the mayor of our city, but as someone who is proud to be an immigrant in our city. And I know that these kinds of raids, this kind of terrorizing of this city, leave the 3 million immigrants of this city asking if they are safe here, if they belong here, if this, too, can be their home. We will not normalize ICE's viciousness. We will not accept its cruelty. We know, and I've said this directly, whether to the president or to the public, ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe. New York City will not stand by while ICE agents shoot New Yorkers. And we will not back down from the demand that so many, including myself, have put forward time and again. This is an agency that must be abolished. Thank you. With that, I am now going to turn it over to our Police Commissioner, Jessica Tisch. Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch: Thank you, sir. I'm here to brief you on an incident that occurred earlier today involving ICE agents in Marble Hill, right behind me. The information I'm about to provide is preliminary, and it is subject to change.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThere is no explanation for these tactics. There is no explanation for federal officers firing this many rounds into a car that has a 5-year-old in the car. There is no explanation. We are standing here, so close to the site where this actually took place, and look at how many people live right here. This is a residential neighborhood. We are right here by a subway, and the pretext of ICE is, in their words, to keep this country safe. How is it keeping anyone safe to have, as you just heard from the police commissioner, individuals wearing construction vests and masks with long guns? Residents have no idea if these are law enforcement agents or if they are simply attacking someone on the street. And when it comes to ICE, it begs the question: What's the difference? There is no explanation for this. Now, I made clear to the president, to the secretary, our request that ICE agents leave the scene entirely, as well as the demand that ICE stop its enforcement actions in New York City. These actions are making the city less safe. They are making New Yorkers terrified. You are hearing from New Yorkers right now — anguish, pain, anger — at the fact that here in this city, the world's city, immigrants have to wake up every morning and not know if they can live the lives that they should be able to live and help to build this city. I'm proud to stand here alongside our public advocate, our attorney general, assembly members, City Council members, state senators and elected officials at all levels, united in the belief that there is no justification for what we have seen today. And we know that what we've seen today is but a microcosm of what ICE does on a daily basis across this country. How can that be how we describe public safety? It can't be. And I've shared that with the president. I've shared that with the secretary. This city wants ICE out. We want ICE out of our city, ICE out of our schools, ICE out of our hospitals, ICE out of our streets, ICE away from our kids. We want that because we want to keep the city safe. We do not need them to do so. All they do is terrorize this city. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Conference on Ice Shooting in Marble Hill.