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Donald Trump wants to arrest Zohran Mamdani (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Zohran Kwame Mamdani, who has lived in the US for most of his life, was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda until he was seven-years-old before moving to New York City with his family.
He went on to represent the 36th Assembly District and was previously passionate against fighting for those who in underrepresented areas.
This is what led him to run for office, fuelled by his passion for changing the housing crisis and pro-corporate policies.
As of right now, he was the first South Asian man to serve in the NYS Assembly, the first Ugandan and the third Muslim to ever be a member of the body.
What has Trump said about Mamdani?
Speaking recently to press, Trump said he’d heard claims that Mamdani was ‘here illegally’, with him threatening to arrest him if he blocked immigration officers conducting on-street arrests in New York.
Trump said: “A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally. We’re going to look at everything.”
When a journalist posed the question that Mamdani wouldn’t allow ICE to conduct their arrests, Trump replied: “Well then we’ll have to arrest him.”
He also called Mamdani a communist.
It might be unlikely (Joe Raedle/Getty Image)
Could Mamdani be deported?
The process, called denaturalisation, allows the government to revoke a person’s citizenship. It can occur when a person commit terrorism, war crimes, or lying on their citizenship application.
On June 11, the Justice Department stated it would ‘prioritise denaturalisation; by instituting civil proceedings for people ‘if they either ‘illegally procured’ naturalization or procured naturalization by “concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation”.’
The memo added: “The Civil Division shall prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.”
The Justice Department announced on June 13 that UK citizen Elliott Duke, who was convicted of collecting and distributing child sexual abuse material, had been denaturalised.
But as for whether Mamdani could be deported, Michael Kagan, professor of law at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. said: “Denaturalisation is limited to cases where the government can prove material fraud in their original applications.” It is rare and unlikely for either Musk or Mamdani. This appears to be irresponsible rhetoric designed to intimidate political opponents.
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