Mamdani slams ICE and oligarchs in America 250 immigration speech

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani targeted US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents Elon Musk and what he described as the “arena of supremacy” in the US in his immigration-themed America 250 speech on Friday before the July 4th weekend.

Standing alongside eight recently naturalized U.S. citizens, Mamdani touched on the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and America’s immigration history before turning his discourse to elements of today’s United States. Mamdani also criticized the “world’s first trillionaire”; This was a milestone Musk achieved with SpaceX’s long-awaited Initial Public Offering (IPO) last month.

Without naming Musk, Mamdani said, “We see the richest country in the history of the world; while children sleep hungry, the world’s first trillionaire is hungry for more.” “We see monopolies dominating every industry and oligarchs buying elections. We see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating meals cooked by our undocumented neighbors and then kidnapping them in unmarked pickup trucks.”

“We see a nation where vast wealth has been built by those with calloused, dirty hands, those who work on factory floors and cut stone. And we see a nation that has allowed the bulk of that wealth to remain in the soft hands of a precious few,” he added.

Mamdani also praised the legacy of immigrants, claiming that immigrants overcame riots that “targeted their existence” to create life in New York.

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“In the decades that followed, despite federal government laws banning their entry, despite vicious sweatshop fires that killed hundreds of women, and despite riots targeting their presence, immigrants made homes here in New York City and helped create New York City,” the mayor said.

“The legacy of each generation of Americans who insisted that the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness included them is not a relic of the past. It brought millions of Black Americans north during the Great Migration. It drew hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans to New York City after World War II. It invited countless others from the West Indies, South Asia, West Africa, and around the world. And that’s what brought my family to this city when I was seven,” he continued.

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Mamdani did not mention her own family’s wealth in her speech. His father was a distinguished Harvard academic and his mother was an acclaimed film director.

“My family didn’t come by boat, although we could see the Statue of Liberty from the plane window. Even from the air we could see the promise of America, the promise of the beautiful patriotic work of making America a little more true to its founding ideals every year,” he said.

Lower Manhattan is viewed at dusk in New York City on September 8, 2016, with the Statue of Liberty in the foreground. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In his speech, Mamdani condemned those “with power and influence” who he complained were writing American history.

“There’s a term often used to describe our nation and those who shaped it: American exceptionalism. Conventional wisdom tells us that American exceptionalism makes our freedom a little freer. That’s how we dug the Erie Canal and watered the West. That’s why children in distant lands grow up dreaming of moving here one day. And yet the irony is that the story of America is often written by people who are told they are not exceptional at all, by others with power, influence, and wealth.” said Mamdani. “From generation to generation, we are told that when the world sends its people to our shores, it does not send the best.”

“He sent Puritans, Sikhs, Quakers, Muslims, and Jews, exiled because they prayed the wrong way, worshiped the wrong gods, angered the wrong people. He sent peasants and serfs from the slums and shuttles, who were treated less because they had almost no clothes, let alone land. He sent immigrants whose power was held by someone else.” “We are told that America is exceptional because we are richer, stronger, more powerful than anyone else. The truth, my friends, is that America is exceptional because nothing is fixed here.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers a speech at City Hall on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America on July 3, 2026. (Anna Connors/Pool via REUTERS)

Mamdani touched on how she became a US citizen in 2018. Mamdani was born in Uganda in 1991 and moved to New York when she was 7 years old. The mayor is a dual US-Ugandan citizen.

“Almost ten years ago, I felt the joy of being no longer just a New Yorker, but an American. Each of you has a special power. The power to define what America means,” the mayor said, speaking to recently naturalized citizens.

“The powerful always knew the answer. To them, America is an arena of supremacy where only a select few are allowed freedom,” Mamdani said. he said. “A place where not all are created equal. If you ask them, the more people America accepts, the less it accepts. They will tell you that America belongs only to those with the right accent or the right skin color. They insist that the rest of us should be grateful just for being allowed to visit. How small they are, how weak they are, how unoriginal they are. At every moment in our past, those who pioneered exclusion and isolation have sought to gain power and enrich themselves by pitting us against each other.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers a speech at New York City Hall on July 3, 2026, on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. (Anna Connors/Pool via REUTERS)

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Mamdani also claimed that ICE was invading New York neighborhoods.

“We see America when neighbor joins arm in arm with neighbor as ICE invades our neighborhoods without asking how long they have lived here or what documents they have,” he added. “We see America whenever young and old stand in the pouring rain or in the stifling heat to vote. We see America when working people demand more, not just for themselves but for their fellow Americans.”

“There are those who respond to those who want more from America with a simple refrain. ‘Love it or leave it,’ they say. But patriotism has never been about claiming that our nation is perfect. Patriotism is any act of justified dissent,” Mamdani said. he said. “Every March passes under the intense sun. Each protest takes place ten years ahead of time. It is precisely because we love this nation that we will not abandon it.”

Mamdani concluded his speech with a stirring appeal to American greatness.

“What a power each of us has to bring America closer to the greatness that so many have seen when they gaze upon these shores. The greatness of America for 250 years. Thank you. God bless America. God bless New York. And happy Fourth of July,” he concluded.