Two House Republicans have launched a full-blown attack on New York City’s leading mayoral contender, Zohran Mamdani. After polls showed Trump-endorsed Republican Cuomo falling behind in the race, the MAGA has come up with an evil plan.
Doubling down on a tactic straight out of Trump’s authoritarian playbooks, Randy Fine (R-Fla.) and Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) are calling on the DoJ to review decades of naturalization records. And they have asked to start with Mamdani, plotting to potentially strip him of his U.S. citizenship. Fine straight up asked to “review every naturalization of the past 30 years — starting with Mamdani.” (via NY Post)
“I just think we need to take a hard look at how these folks became citizens, and if there is any fraud or any violation of the rules, we need to denaturalize and deport.”
Mamdani was born in Uganda and naturalized in 2018. He has been a rising progressive voice in NYC, leading on housing, racial justice, and immigrant rights. His campaigns have long sparked an onslaught of Islamophobic, xenophobic, and racist attacks from GOP figures. Now, after the revelation of the polls, Trump’s goons are unwilling to accept a defeat at the ballot box.
Ogles, meanwhile, argued that Mamdani concealed his ties to political organizations during the naturalization process. “In 2018 when he was naturalized, he failed to disclose some of the things that he had been doing, one of which was joining the [Democratic] Socialists of America,” he said. Ogles claims that it’s a “communist organization,” which would have disqualified Mamdani from becoming a U.S. citizen at that time.
While US immigration law declares those who have “been a member of or affiliated with the Communist or any other totalitarian party” inadmissible, Mamdani has denied being a communist at multiple occasions. Given the timing of the arguments, the Republican attack is nothing more than a political hit disguised as law enforcement. Under current legal precedent, denaturalization requires material fraud or willful misrepresentation, not minor omission in forms.
Social media barely contained the backlash. “They can’t beat him, so they are trying to deport him. This is the fascist way,” one user wrote, drawing a sharp line between ideology and authoritarian tactics. Others stressed that removing someone’s citizenship over technicalities is both un-American and unconstitutional. Another attacked, “Imagine if trumpedo and republicans were this quick with opening the government and releasing the Epstein files rather than trying to stop Zohran Mamdani from winning a ‘fair and free’ election.”
At a moment when millions are struggling with inflation, housing costs, and a government shutdown, Republicans are doubling down on denaturalization motions instead of governing. When lawmakers threaten to deport someone because of paperwork or political views, not crimes, they cross from opposition into authoritarianism. Targeting Mamdani because he threatens Trump’s political dreams is simply power dressed up in red, white, and blue.
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