On July 7, 2025, Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, escalated tensions with New York City’s Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, threatening to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and, shockingly, U.S. Marines to the city if Mamdani wins the November election. The remarks, made during a White House press briefing, followed Mamdani’s pledge to block ICE operations and uphold NYC’s sanctuary city policies. Homan’s unprecedented invocation of military forces stunned observers, with critics calling it a dangerous overreach that undermines local governance. “If Mamdani thinks he can stop us, we’ll flood the zone with ICE and, if needed, the Marines. We’re coming,” Homan declared, prompting gasps from reporters.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old Queens assemblyman who defeated Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, has vowed to “Trump-proof” NYC by ending cooperation with ICE, which he labels a “fascist” agency. His platform, rooted in democratic socialism, prioritizes immigrant protections, including halting data-sharing with federal authorities and expanding legal aid for deportees. Homan dismissed these plans, asserting, “Federal law trumps him every minute of every day.” He cited NYC’s refusal to honor ICE detainers as enabling “public safety threats,” pointing to 29,000 undocumented immigrant arrests in the city since 2023, per ICE data. Posts on X reflected polarized reactions, with some praising Homan’s tough stance and others decrying it as authoritarian.
What Homan did next deepened the controversy. On July 8, he appeared on Fox News, doubling down on his threats and revealing plans to station ICE agents at Rikers Island, a move Mayor Eric Adams recently approved but which faces legal challenges. Homan also hinted at invoking the Insurrection Act to justify military deployment, a rare and contentious measure last used in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots. Legal experts, including Georgetown’s Mary McCord, warned that using Marines for immigration enforcement violates the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits military involvement in domestic law enforcement. “This is not just rhetoric; it’s a constitutional crisis in the making,” McCord said.
The threat has left Americans bewildered, raising fears of federal overreach in blue cities. Mamdani responded on X, stating, “This is a declaration of war on New Yorkers. We will not be intimidated.” Governor Kathy Hochul vowed to protect the city’s sovereignty, while Adams, running as an independent, distanced himself from Mamdani but stopped short of condemning Homan. Trump, speaking at Mar-a-Lago, backed Homan, calling Mamdani a “communist” and falsely questioning his citizenship, despite Mamdani being a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2018.
As the mayoral race intensifies, Homan’s remarks underscore a broader clash between Trump’s immigration agenda and sanctuary cities. With NYC spending $8 billion on migrant housing since 2022, per Adams’ estimates, the issue remains divisive. Homan’s threats, particularly the mention of Marines, have sparked protests in Queens, with activists rallying behind Mamdani. The nation watches as this unprecedented standoff threatens to reshape federal-local relations.
