Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says Mayor Zohran Mamdani spent part of a two-hour phone call Thursday night pressing federal officials to release a man shot by ICE agents earlier that day, despite a criminal record spanning roughly three years.
The call included Mullin, President Trump, Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul, and followed an ICE-involved shooting in New York City in which agents shot a man described by officials as a criminal illegal alien with ties to a violent gang. Within hours of the shooting, before an investigation produced full details, Mamdani publicly called ICE “rotten to its core” and called for the agency to be abolished.
Mullin described Mamdani’s conduct on the call as unreasonable, saying the mayor wanted the suspect freed.
“The mayor wanted him FULLY RELEASED BACK ON THE STREETS.”
Mullin laid out the suspect’s record, saying it included four robbery charges, two felony assault charges, felony larceny, assault, weapons assault, weapons possession, misdemeanor larceny, possession of stolen property and two felony charges of dangerous drugs — all accumulated over about three years, which Mullin said is roughly how long the man had been in the country.
“Let me explain what he’s on probation for, four robbery charges, two charges of felony assault, felony larceny, assault, weapons assault, weapons possession of misdemeanor larceny, possession of stolen property, and two felony charges of dangerous drugs — all in 3 years, and that’s all that’s how long he’s been in the country.”
Mullin characterized the overall tone of the call as civil, with Hochul described as respectful and reasonable, and Mamdani as cordial but, in Mullin’s view, unrealistic in his request.
“To be frank here, the governor was being somewhat respectful and reasonable. Mamdani was being, or the mayor was being, cordial, but unrealistic. The fact that they wanted to release this individual back on the streets is absurd.”
Mullin said President Trump offered during the call to turn the suspect over to NYPD custody rather than release him outright.
Backdrop: A Bronx Stabbing
The call and the mayor’s comments came in the same week that NYPD Detective Jose Mercedes was stabbed in the Bronx. Police say Mercedes was attacked by two illegal aliens during an attempted robbery. Mamdani visited Mercedes in the hospital following the attack, though he has faced criticism over the contrast between his swift public statements condemning ICE and his comparatively quieter public response to the detective’s stabbing.
Mamdani has said that the night of the ICE shooting, he spent two hours “negotiating the release” of the man agents had shot.
