Mamdani Says Immigration Central To America’s Identity

India-West News Desk

NEW YORK, NY- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to Indian-origin parents, used an address on the eve of the United States’ 250th Independence Day celebrations to make the case that immigration has always been central to the American story.

Speaking to recently naturalized U.S. citizens at New York City Hall ahead of President Donald Trump’s Independence Day address at Mount Rushmore, he appeared to criticize the administration’s immigration policies without naming the president directly.

“America, they will tell you, belongs only to those with the right accent or the right shade of skin,” Mamdani said. “The rest of us, they insist, should be grateful for merely being allowed to visit.”

Mamdani, who became a U.S. citizen in 2018, recalled seeing the Statue of Liberty from an airplane when he first arrived in the country. He said, “Nearly a decade ago, I too felt what you feel, the joy of no longer being just a New Yorker, but an American, too.”

Mamdani also criticized current immigration enforcement measures, saying “masked agents” were terrorizing neighborhoods and taking undocumented immigrants away in unmarked vans. He argued that the nation’s wealth had been built by workers on factory floors and in the trades, but much of it was now held by “a precious few.”

He called division the “oldest” and “cheapest” trick in politics. Mamdani argued that those who try to build power by turning Americans against each other have always been, and will continue to be, overcome by the spirit of the nation.

He said the work of fulfilling the ideals of the Declaration of Independence belongs to every American, including the country’s newest citizens. “Those ideals upon which our nation was built, they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them,” he said.

Mamdani has gained national attention after several candidates he endorsed won New York’s Democratic primaries. Under the U.S. Constitution, he cannot run for president because he is not a natural-born citizen. He has rejected suggestions to amend the Constitution, saying it “looks good just the way it is.”