Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning, everyone. I first just want to take a moment to thank everyone - both those who are here and those beyond this room who made this morning possible, [and] who made it such that it would be a good one. I want to thank the incredible advocates and legal team that worked to secure this day. If we can have a round of applause for all those we've heard from, all those who are here. As much as we have spoken about Dylan, we oftentimes forget in the conversation we are speaking about a high school freshman in our city.
We are speaking about a young man whose year should have been defined by that which defines so many freshman years: learning about himself, the classes that he likes, the ones that he can't wait until the bell rings for, the friends that he makes [and] the city that he now calls his home. And instead, he was taken from the city. He was put in detention for nearly a year. And he was robbed of what should have been his. Because above all else, Dylan is a New Yorker. He belongs in New York City.
This city has been missing him. And we are so grateful. We are so grateful that you are home. This is your home. And we know that good things are not simply granted; they have to be fought for in a world like ours. And so, to his mother, who is here with us [and] to the family that grew around him: his lawyers, his advocates, his guidance counselor, the elected officials that are here with us, [and] those that ensure, like Murad, that we always understand that to be an immigrant and to be a New Yorker is not, however, to have two identities in tension.
They are, for myself and for more than 3 million who call this city home, one and the same. I say thank you. Because this is a city that does not stand for our children being snatched from their home. It is a city that does not stand for high school students being taken away from the life that they should have. And as Dylan has reminded us, this is but a glimpse into something that is affecting so many across this city, across this state, and across this country.
And we will not rest until every single person is where they deserve to be. We will not rest until our students can focus on school. Until our parents can focus on their lives. Until we do not have to fight for the most basic of things, like freedom, like dignity, like our rights. And I want to thank the New Yorkers who are here alongside me, because it is their hard work that ensures we remember that above all else, these should be realities in our city, in our state, and in our country.
And I want you to know, Dylan, and I want our whole city to know, that [the] City government here today, whether from the governor at the state level, myself as the mayor, [or] the speaker that is here, [has] elected officials, public advocates, borough presidents, City Council members, every single level of government. We are united in our belief that New Yorkers deserve to be in New York, and their rights are things that must be respected. And we will say that every single day until it does not have to be said any longer.
Because this is a city, this is a city that is proud of its heritage, it's a city that is proud of the many immigrants who call it home, and it's a city that is proud of a future that will have not just New Yorkers like Dylan studying in school, but New Yorkers like Dylan helping to shape the future of this place that we all call home. Thank you all so much.
