The city’s immigrant communities were front and center as a naturalized U.S. citizen was sworn in as mayor of New York City. In front of thousands of New Yorkers, Zohran Kwame Mamdani became the first South Asian, the first African, and the first Muslim mayor in the history of a city that spans four centuries.
During his speech, Mamdani — who was born in Uganda and became a citizen less than eight years ago — recalled how he himself had “waited in quiet terror” for his father “to emerge from 26 Federal Plaza.”
Immigration, and the challenges the city’s immigrant communities are facing, were repeatedly referenced by those addressing the gathering at the inauguration ceremony.
“New York belongs to all who live in it,” said Mamdani. “Together, we will tell a new story of our city. The authors of this story will speak Pashto and Mandarin, Yiddish and Creole. They will pray in mosques, at shul, at church, at gurdwaras and mandirs and temples, and many will not pray at all.”
He went on, “They will be Russian Jewish immigrants in Brighton Beach, Italians in Rossville and Irish families in Woodhaven, many of whom came here with nothing but a dream of a better life.”
As he continued his homage to the city’s immigrants, his family looked on proudly — his Ugandan-American father and renowned academic Mahmood Mamdani, his Indian-American mother and noted film director Mira Nair, and his Syrian-American wife and artist Rama Duwaji.
The night before, seconds into the new year, Mamdani had officially sworn in as mayor in the decommissioned old City Hall subway station, with one hand on a Quran from the collections of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Mayor Mamdani when ICE shows up
“You could feel on this stage today that immigrant New York City is New York City,” said Brad Lander, speaking to Documented moments after the inauguration.
Lander, the outgoing city comptroller who lost out to Mamdani in the Democratic mayoral primary, has frequently visited 26 Federal Plaza, accompanied immigrant New Yorkers to their court dates, and been a vocal critic of ICE arrests at the courthouse. In June last year, he had been arrested by masked federal agents outside an immigration court at the venue.
Lander offered that the new administration should increase the number of lawyers and legal service providers who are tasked with helping immigrants. He added, “[The] next time ICE comes without masks and identification to abduct our neighbors, I’d like to see NYPD officers say, ‘Show me you got a lawful basis to arrest our neighbors.’ That’s what it looks like to keep New Yorkers safe.”
Several immigrant advocates said that they hope that the NYPD will be less hostile to protestors under Mamdani’s leadership.
With the NYPD falling under Mamdani’s purview, Aber Kawas, a civil rights advocate who had volunteered for the Mamdani campaign said, “I feel much more secure with Zohran and this administration protecting the rights of protesters — because he comes from an organizing background, he’s very committed to that.”
Expressing hope in the Mamdani administration’s outlook towards anti-ICE protests, Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, told Documented, “Everything from protesting to raising your voice to fighting back in a non-violent way will be protected.”
“First and foremost, Zohran is the complete opposite of the former mayor we had who was trying to collude with immigration enforcement every which way he can think about it and violate our local laws,” added Awawdeh.
He believes the Mamdani mayoralty would make sure that all city agencies are following New York’s sanctuary policies and that if they weren’t, that they get in compliance right away.
Awawdeh also called for the Mamdani administration to invest “in services that we know work, like immigration legal services, educational services, and family planning and preparedness”, and that these investments are made in a way that is helping immigrants in need immediately.
Mamdani takes office at a time when New York’s immigrant communities are under attack. Under President Donald Trump’s administration in 2025, New York led all 50 states in the percentage of ICE arrests of immigrants without any criminal record.
Three out of every five arrests made by ICE in New York state were of individuals who were neither convicted of a crime nor had any pending criminal charges, a Documented analysis has shown.
Kawas, a Palestinian American and daughter of immigrants, knows very closely how immigration policies can rip families apart as her father was in ICE detention for three years before he was deported to Jordan.
Speaking to Documented outside City Hall, Kawas said she is hopeful that the Mamdani administration is “prepared for the challenge and will do everything that they can to protect immigrant communities.”
She pointed to Mamdani’s engagement with Trump about the city’s sanctuary city policies as an integral step. “It’s actually great progress that they are committed to protecting immigrant communities, but also that they were able to go and speak to the Trump administration about this issue and have an open line of communication.”
Kawas said the way people embraced Mamdani’s campaign had also influenced her to venture into electoral politics. She has announced a bid for a state assembly seat neighboring Mamdani’s own former constituency in Queens.
Sworn in by those impacted by immigration enforcement
The oath of office for re-elected Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams was administered by three New Yorkers who have been impacted by immigration enforcement in New York City.
“I came to this country in 2001 as a teenager — I was undocumented with no one and nowhere to turn,” started Amadou Ly, a Senegalese American and naturalized U.S. citizen. His plight was covered by the New York Times, and the ensuing attention and outpouring of support he received changed his life. “People showed up, blue collar workers, teachers, celebrities, even presidents. They too said that I belonged here, too.”
But not everyone is as fortunate, Ly reminded the audience. “Every day, thousands of New Yorkers face the fear I once did, without the spotlight. They fear being abducted, detained, and disappeared.”
Indeed, among the immigrants who swore in Williams was Aissatou Diallo, a grandmother and home health aide from Queens who was detained on November 25,while traveling to visit her son. As Ly recounted the details of Diallo’s arrest, the crowd booed with displeasure. “She was abducted by ICE at LaGuardia Airport, she was shackled and detained. After decades of building a life here, her freedom would suddenly shift away,” said Ly.
Diallo was released ten days later, after a judge ruled her arrest to be unlawful. Williams had attended her court hearing.
Along with Ly and Diallo were the Perez Alnaudes, a family of five who fled Venezuela and sought asylum in the United States. Williams had recently supported the family at their immigration check-in.
As Williams stepped up to be sworn in, Ly, Diallo and the Perez Alnaudes stood gathered around him. “I am a son of immigrants myself,” the public advocate said in his speech. “My parents came over from Grenada over 50 years ago.”
His voice later choked up as he said that he didn’t know whether his mother, who had arrived in the United States as a teenager, would have ever imagined that her son would be speaking from the steps of City Hall.
“Whether you arrived in our city generations ago or five years ago or five minutes ago, the reason so many New Yorkers have too little are not because of the people who have even less or who have been here for less time, not because of the people pushed to the bottom but the systems entrenched at the top,” said Williams, as the crowd cheered in agreement. “That’s where we should focus our anger, and our action.”
Speaking to Documented shortly after the inauguration, Williams repeated the sentiment: “This is a city and a country of immigrants, it just depends how far back you go.”
你知道吗？非公民办理驾照时的这个错误可能会导致选民欺诈
And Mamdani doubled down on his message of unity. “If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it. Because no matter what you eat, how you pray, or where you come from, the words that most define us are the two we all share — New Yorkers.”
The new mayor ended his speech by saying, “The work, my friends, has only just begun. Thank you.” As he held hands with his wife and waved to the crowd, in one final nod to Mamdani’s multicultural immigrant heritage and his mother’s Punjabi roots, a song by the artist Babbulicious rang through the venue.
A shower of confetti fell over the venue, and the inauguration of the immigrant mayor was over, and his term had begun.
