Zohran Mamdani on His Family’s Experience With Immigration Court and His Plans for ICE in NYC

[system]

Originally published at: Zohran Mamdani on His Family’s Experience With Immigration Court and His Plans for ICE in NYC

Zohran Mamdani has felt the fear that stalks the halls of New York City’s immigration courts in the Trump era.  The mayor-elect found himself waiting nervously on a Manhattan sidewalk when his father, who is Indian-Ugandan, was called in for his citizenship interview.  “I was there earlier this year outside of 26 Federal Plaza,” Mamdani…

[epicurus]

The more I read and learn about this man, the more I like him. He’s a politician with a heart; a rare commodity these days. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people. We shall see.

[kelaine]

@epicurus

He’s a politician with a heart

Mandy Patinkin calls him a “humanitician”

[john_adams]

To all the tired old Democrats on this site, who’ve spent a decade defending Hillary by claiming that Bernie would have lost to Trump in 2016, I give you Mamdani. You were all wrong in 2016 and you’re wrong now. Hillary actually did lose (and no, winning the popular vote is irrelevant). Bernie would clearly have beaten an incoherent Trump but the Clintons owned the fucking DNC, another corrupt, clueless unAmerican shithole that needs to be disbanded immediately after the RNC is. We need new ideas, new leadership and people unafraid to work for the American people. Hillary was and is a loathsome, selfish moronic corporate stooge. So, now every time you think about Mamdani, think about where we could be as a country had Hillary actually given more of a fuck about us than she did about her fucking self.

[stranger]

So, everything that is wrong, chaotic, evil, etc is Hilliary Clinton’s fault…

Grow Up Kid, just your misguided opinion. Not helpful.

[philmore]

@john_adams

To all the tired old Democrats on this site, who’ve spent a decade defending Hillary by claiming that Bernie would have lost to Trump in 2016,

Bernie coulda won!

[davitydave]

Bernie couldn’t even win the primary–twice!

[john_adams]

He did pretty well for a guy who was running against the entire DNC, corporate democrats and a corrupt and compliant media. Imagine if all the money in this country wasn’t working overtime to brainwash you and buy the outcome that protected them, their privilege and their money. Just imagine if such a thought could even get through all those generations of brainwashing.

[davitydave]

Riiight. He did so well, he lost.

[philmore]

By landslides. Twice. In January 2020 had a $210 million war chest and was out of the race less than three months later. It is underreported this was the largest presidential campaign collapse in modern history.

But, hey, fantasy worlds really are lovely places.

What is also true is Zohran Mamdani is far more talented, especially in the arena of social intelligence. In that he is in a class by himself.

[benthere]

Does it ever get freezing cold out there on the moral high ground??

[kelaine]

Let’s move on. I would prefer to discuss Zohran Mamdani and immigration than to bicker and snipe at each other.

Zohran benefitted from having thoughtful, worldly, and loving parents. Below are two posts that I previously shared on the dedicated Mamdani thread in the Hive.

@kelaine

Mamdani said he remembers once telling his father, a professor of international affairs and anthropology at Columbia, that he was exhausted with “always feeling like a minority.” But his father’s reply changed his perspective. “I was an Indian in Uganda. I was a Muslim in India. And I was all of these things in New York City,” Mahmood Mamdani explained to his son. And “to be a minority is also to see the truth of the place amidst the promise of it.”

“It was this moment which took me from a view of the world where I had this chip on my shoulder,” Mamdani told me, “to one which made me understand instead both what the world took — and what it offered.”

@kelaine

Mahmood Mamdani dedicated his book, Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities, to his son.

For Zohran,
You teach us how to engage the world in difficult times. May you inspire many and blaze a trail.

Neither Settler nor Native - Wikipedia

[zandru]

@philmore

Bernie coulda won!

You betcha! Back in 2016, anybody would have voted for a declared Socialist, no questions asked!!

[philmore]

@kelaine

I would prefer to discuss Zohran Mamdani and immigration than to bicker and snipe at each other.

Like his hero, Franklin D. Roosevelt (my hero, too), Zohran Mamadi possesses a “first-class temperament,” as termed [correction: Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes.] We can’t project too much too soon. He will need some successes. Count on him at a few points being denounced by the purity ponies. And so be it. But as the more successful he becomes, the more influence he can exert on the body politic as a whole. Maybe he can bring some sanity to the Twenty-First Century Progressive moment. Wouldn’t that be a breath of fresh air?

[guineapig]

@kelaine

Mandy Patinkin calls him a “humanitician”

Really nice to have this little bit of hope. First New York City, hope it can expand from there.

[kelaine]

@philmore

Like his hero, Franklin D. Roosevelt…

Though, we can’t forget that Bernie is one of Zohran’s heroes too. I shared as much on today’s Morning Memo comment thread.

@kelaine

“Senator Bernie Sanders laid the foundations for our movement with his steadfast commitment to the dignity of working people and his belief in a government that serves the many, not just the few.”

I think that the main difference between the two is that Zohran has the temperament. Bill de Blasio referred to Zohran as an old soul inside a young man. He is calm and reassuring while also being direct and steadfast.

[kelaine]

@guineapig

Really nice to have this little bit of hope. First New York City, hope it can expand from there.

Since Trump’s election in 2016, my daughter has had her hope dashed over and over again. She lives in NYC, and she voted for Zohran. She is so excited. She wishes everyone had a Zohran!

[philmore]

I’ve kind of had it with Bernie. He can’t stop himself from attacking Democrats. He has an unfortunate destructive streak in him. I knew Bernie in the Seventies, 50 years ago, as I was living in Vermont and politically active. Bernie is no Franklin Roosevelt. Unlike Bernie Sanders, both Franklin Roosevelt knew how to play well with others. Like Zohran Mamdani. Maybe Mamdani can be a positive influence on Sanders’ remaining time.

[ealleniii]

In 50 years, the entire world will look back at this era as one of profound hypocrisy and racism. Our immigration policies in every single white majority nation are extremely racist. Many other nations have extremely bigoted immigration policies as well.

We should all be ashamed.

[feljones]

“I don’t even want to get into an economic argument about it, though,” Mamdani said. “We have to begin at a moral level.”

I’m thrilled to see this response by Mamdani. It’s not only morally righteous it’s politically savvy. I’m amazed how few politicians seem to agree with this perspective.