New York City has put out a welcome mat for illegal immigrants, practically inviting them to join in Mayor Zohran Mamdani's "collective warmth" of socialism. There's just one problem: The city needs your tax dollars to pay for it.
Last week, Mamdani reiterated his commitment to obstructing federal immigration enforcement officers. "Abolish ICE," he wrote on social media. New York City "will continue to stand" beside "any immigrant family."
It's hardly the first time Mamdani has snubbed his nose at federal immigration enforcement authorities.
In February, the mayor signed an executive order to reinforce New York's sanctuary city laws -- just one week after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced legislation to bar police from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
In May, the mayor went further, directing city agencies to impede Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations -- including requiring local police to be dispatched to locations where immigration agents are reported to ensure illegals' "rights" are not impinged upon, and relaxing child services protections to prevent illegal aliens from entering the criminal justice system.
Think about that. New York leaders would sooner turn a blind eye to children in an abusive home than comply with federal immigration law. That's the kind of negligence that not only erodes an economy and fosters a welfare state but produces the lasting violence and moral decay that tear apart communities.
Yet somehow federal law enforcement officers are the ones "terrorizing" the city, at least according to Mamdani. What's more, his office continues to reject federal immigration law, enforcing instead local sanctuary laws while readily accepting federal funds to keep the city out of bankruptcy.
New York City receives about $7.4 billion annually from the federal government -- money it needs to keep its socialist agenda afloat. Federal subsidies account for more than 40% of the New York City Housing Authority's general fund revenue and virtually all its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.
And that's to say nothing of federal health care funding. New York City takes more than $30 billion annually in Medicaid funding alone. The state's emergency Medicaid program, which provides coverage for illegal immigrants, grew by 1,200% between 2014 and 2024.
The Big Apple wants to have its cake and eat it too. But it can't take federal money while shrugging off our country's rule of law -- or, at least, it shouldn't be able to.
Last year, the Trump administration sued New York City, then governed by former Mayor Eric Adams, for its sanctuary city laws that impeded federal immigration enforcement. "If New York's leaders won't step up to protect their citizens, we will," said then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump threatened to halt federal funding for sanctuary cities like New York City that defy immigration laws -- which, as the president rightly noted, "do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens."
Sadly, decrying immigration law and stoking hatred against those who enforce it seems to have become a litmus test for dyed-in-the-wool Democrats. This isn't the party of former Presidents Barack Obama, who ordered more than 3 million ICE deportations, or Bill Clinton, who cautioned that illegal immigration is "wrong and ultimately self-defeating."
No, this is this party of Mamdani and his contemporaries, who are intent on pushing their radical agenda on honest Americans and convincing the public that anyone who dares to disagree is "inhumane." It's part of the socialist spin machine: The lawbreakers, it says, are the victims, and those who would uphold the law are the bad guys.
Unchecked, this creep of socialism won't stop. It won't be abated by passivism. Congress and the Trump administration should hold these liberal enclaves to account with the power of the purse. Because cities and states that won't enforce our country's immigration laws shouldn't be rewarded with taxpayers' hard-earned money.
Ken Buck received his law degree from the University of Wyoming and served in the United States House of Representatives from 2015-2024 representing Colorado's 4th congressional district. He now serves as a Fellow with the Independent Center.
