Corporation Counsel Steven Banks: In 2019, New York City and New York State, along with a coalition of community partners, prevailed in court to block an unlawful federal public charge rule that was damaging to all New Yorkers, citizens and noncitizens alike.
Unfortunately, we're back here today because the federal government has again taken aim at our immigrant communities with a new expansive and unlawful public charge rule scheduled to take effect on Sept. 18 that changes the meaning and the intent of the rule in a manner that is even more harmful than the 2019 rule.
This new rule will impose unnecessary fear and uncertainty on immigrant families who are already navigating complex systems to build stable and productive lives in our communities. Accessing programs that help people meet basic needs - health care, nutrition assistance, housing support - should not be viewed as being a public charge.
The consequences of this rule would extend far beyond the people directly subject to it. When families are afraid to seek medical care, obtain food assistance or access other essential services, the effects are felt throughout our communities. Children may go without the support they need; families may delay necessary health care; and trusted institutions, including schools, hospitals and social service providers, can lose the confidence of the communities they serve.
New York City understands the importance of welcoming immigrants and ensuring that every resident can access the services necessary to live safely and with dignity. Our city is stronger when families are healthy, children are supported and people are able to work, contribute and participate fully in their communities.
A rule that discourages people from seeking essential services does not make families more self-sufficient. It can make them less secure, less healthy and ultimately more vulnerable. We should not force families to choose between meeting their basic needs today and protecting their ability to remain together and build a future here in our city.
For these reasons, our lawsuit that has just been filed seeks to permanently enjoin the Department of Homeland Security from implementing this dangerous rule.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the person who's made it possible for us to bring this case, Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning. Thank you to everyone who has joined us today here at City Hall. I want to recognize our city's Corporation Counsel, Steve Banks, and the countless others in the Law Department for their tireless work on behalf of immigrant New Yorkers. I want to commend State Attorney General Letitia James for her ongoing efforts to protect our immigrant communities with the full force of New York's legal power. And I want to thank the New Yorkers and immigrant families that are standing alongside me, all of whom proudly call our city home.
We have among them New York Immigration Coalition President Murad Awawdeh. We have Make the Road Health Program Director Arlene Cruz. We have leaders from within City government, whether our deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, Helen Arteaga; deputy mayor of Economic Justice, Julie Su; chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem; our commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, Faiza Ali; HRA administrator, Scott French; Health Department commissioner, Dr. Alister Martin; special advisor for Strategic Coordination and Operations, Bitta Mostofi.
We also have leaders at both the city level, the borough level and the district level, whether our Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; our Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal; as well as so many friends and colleagues representing this city in the Council, in the Assembly and in the State Senate.
We are all gathered here today out of a belief that New York City is the greatest city in the world, in no small part, because of the immigrants who helped to build it. Immigrants laid the foundations of our bridges and erected towers that stretch into the sky. Immigrants wrote the poems that stir our hearts and sang the songs that make us dance. Immigrants fought for the eight-hour workday, for fair pay and workplace protections that delivered dignity into the lives of so many.
Immigrants from every country, from every continent, who speak every language and worship in every conceivable way, drive our buses and our trains, teach our children how to read and tend to us when we are sick.
Immigrants are New Yorkers, and yet we know that all too often they are not treated as such. The federal government has waged a campaign of violence and terror. Unaccompanied children have been forced to navigate our judicial system alone. ICE has broken into our neighbors' homes, work sites and schools, and it has targeted those who have come to our country in search of refuge and in search of opportunity.
These actions are an assault on our civic fabric, on our shared values, and no matter how much destruction they have already caused, it continues. Just last month, the federal government finalized a set of drastic and unlawful changes to our country's public charge rule, a rule that makes it possible for someone to be denied immigration status based on the likelihood of their need for public benefits.
Set to go into effect this coming Friday, Sept. 18, the new public charge rule expands the list of public benefits that might count against green card or visa applicants. If you are a citizen or an individual seeking humanitarian relief like asylum, these changes will not affect you.
The new federal public charge rule not only sweeps aside more than a century of established law; it is intentionally vague as a means of creating uncertainty and fear, to isolate immigrant New Yorkers, to force them to make an impossible choice between meeting their own basic needs and continuing to live in the city that they love.
Make no mistake: this is an undisguised effort to strip New Yorkers of the services they rely on, the public benefits they are entitled to. Families, including those with children who are U.S. citizens, have already begun to forego essential services like SNAP, Medicaid and affordable housing out of the fear that if they use these programs, immigration officers could use it as justification to deny them a future in our country.
The toll of this new rule cannot be overstated. It is estimated that up to 4 million people from across the country could unenroll from their health care alone, including 1.8 million children.
None of this is abstract. People could die; as a result of these changes, the rate of premature mortality in immigrant communities in New York City could increase by up to 10.6 percent within just the next five years. The data is clear. Denying people's services does not erase their need; it compounds it, generating a greater cost to our system that will be placed on the backs of working people for years to come.
Nothing about this rule will reduce waste, or keep Americans safer, or improve New Yorkers' lives. It is simply a vehicle for confusion and a vehicle for cruelty.
Here in New York City, however, cruelty is not how we seek to govern. Immigrants are New Yorkers. And like I said once before, to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us. That is why today we are confronting this injustice with the solidarity and action that it demands. New York City is leading a coalition of cities and counties, including Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Clara County and King County, to sue the federal government for the gross illegality of their new public charge rule and the irreparable damage that it will cause.
We are filing our lawsuit alongside a separate challenge led by Attorney General James. I am grateful for her partnership in this fight and for everything she has done to stand steadfast alongside New Yorkers.
Now before I close, I would like to take a moment to speak directly to those across our city who may be affected by the new public charge rule.
Nothing about your or a family member's eligibility to access benefits and services has changed. If you rely on SNAP, Medicaid or programs like WIC and TANF, do not disenroll without first seeking advice from a trusted legal provider. And if you have concerns about how public charge may affect you or your families, City Hall is here to help. To connect with a trusted, safe and confidential legal services provider for free, you can call the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs Legal Help Hotline at 1-800-354-0365.
And to ensure that you have the information you need, we are partnering with organizations across the five boroughs to host community forums, trainings and clinics. And we are training city outreach teams on public charge so they can support you throughout this challenging time.
Government exists to serve the people. In the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, we will not waver on the commitment we hold to those we serve; the commitment that we hold for one another. We will stand with immigrant New Yorkers every step of the way, and in doing so, we will once again demonstrate the power of a city united. Thank you.
Corporation Counsel Banks: It's an honor and a pleasure to call and introduce Tish James, attorney general of the state of New York and my old-time Legal Aid colleague.
Attorney General Letitia James: This is what collective action looks like. First, I'd like to thank the mayor of the City of New York for his leadership. And, of course, I want to thank my old friend, Corporation Counsel Steve Banks, for being a steadfast partner in using the law both as a shield and as a sword to protect vulnerable and marginalized populations. And thank you to everyone who has joined us as we take action to protect immigrant families once again here in New York and across the country.
Alongside our mayor and his coalition of municipalities, my office is leading a coalition of attorney generals across this nation and challenging the Trump administration's new public charge rule. I also want to thank all of my colleagues in government and all of my friends who are here, both on the state level and the city level.
The last time the federal government tried this in 2019, New York City joined my office's lawsuit that successfully blocked the law. And we will do it again. This time, my office asked that local leaders organize a municipal coalition of cities in a parallel suit, because the harms threatened by this rule change require an all-of-government response.
The administration's new rule is much broader than any public-charge rule in history, and it will provide so much discretion to immigration officers that the rules are so opaque and difficult to comprehend and understand. The harm is that much greater. The rule would allow immigration officers to consider use of critical benefits like Medicaid and SNAP and even participation in school meal programs as part of an applicant's circumstance.
And that means immigrant New Yorkers may be forced to ask themselves impossible questions. Will getting health insurance hurt my chances of getting a green card? Will accepting food assistance when I fall on hard times be held against me? Will my children be able to eat at lunchtime in the cafeteria? In a mixed-status family, will my child who is a citizen, who has asthma, who has CHIP, will that be used against their parents who are immigrants seeking to get permanent status?
No family should have to grapple with these questions, and the circumstances of this rule will extend far beyond individual immigration applications. When families lose health coverage, they may delay care until they are forced to seek more expensive care at the emergency department. When families stop receiving food assistance, grocery stores and other small businesses lose customers.
The downstream effects will hurt our economy, will hurt businesses, will hurt government, will hurt our ability to address the needs, not only in the city but across the state.
And when enrollment in programs like Medicaid and SNAP declines, schools and local governments risk losing automatic certification for free and reduced-price meal programs. This could cut off meals for all eligible students, regardless of their family's income or immigration status.
This administration has exceeded its authority under federal immigration law. This is not what Congress intended. This is an interpretation by an agency which does not have the authority. It violates the Administrative Procedure Act. And again, it's a term that the mayor loves to use - it is capricious.
When the first Trump administration dramatically expanded the public charge rule, New York challenged it in court. We won. And we intend to win again.
Today, we are going back to court because immigrant New Yorkers should not have to choose between putting food on the table, getting the health care they need and pursuing a future in this country. And mixed-status families should not have to be torn apart and make difficult decisions.
I'm proud to stand with Mayor Mamdani and our partners, not only in New York State but in New York City and across the nation, as we do the work that is critically important to support immigrants.
I also want to thank the members of my office who work tirelessly to protect New Yorkers: the chief of the Federal Initiatives Team, Rabia Muqaddam; Special Counsel for Immigrant Services, Justice Zoe Levine; Special Counsel Natasha Korgaonkar; and Assistant Attorney General Ben Liebowitz; and, of course, Megan Fox, who heads the office as well.
We will use every legal tool available to us to challenge this rule and protect New Yorkers from unlawful federal action; and stand up for immigrants who are our neighbors, our friends, our family members, but most importantly, New Yorkers.
Corporation Counsel Banks: Thank you, Attorney General. I'd like to call up the leader of the New York Immigration Coalition, Murad Awawdeh.
Murad Awawdeh, President & CEO, New York Immigration Coalition: Thank you. Good morning, everyone. My name is Murad Awawdeh. I'm the president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition.
I want to first start by thanking our mayor, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as well as our New York State attorney general, Letitia James, for taking legal action to put a stop to the cruel and inhumane rule change that will result in thousands of immigrant families having to choose between feeding their families or seeking immigration status change.
Imagine having to choose to feed your children or being able to adjust your immigration status. No New Yorker should ever have to worry that accessing essential health care, nutrition assistance or other lifesaving programs could put them on a path to detention and deportation.
For generations, New Yorkers have relied on programs that help families stay healthy, keep food on the table and build stronger communities. Access to social services and other public benefits is an investment in our neighborhoods, our workforce and the shared future of all of New York.
Immigrant New Yorkers are part of that fabric. They work, they pay taxes, raise families, care for our loved ones and contribute to our communities across the state. Instead, this public charge rule change, due to take effect this Friday, the Trump administration is creating a system where families are afraid to access the very resources that help them remain stable and self-sufficient. Rather than supporting families, the federal government is funneling billions of dollars into mass deportation that is separating families and creating fear in our communities.
In New York, we cannot allow fear to become the price of seeking basic necessities that are lifesaving for many of our neighbors. This is why we are grateful to our mayor, to our New York State attorney general for standing with immigrant families and taking legal action to protect New Yorkers from the harmful federal policies that would be devastating to all of our communities.
At a moment when families are being forced to navigate an already increasingly complex and frightening immigration system that continues to funnel our neighbors into the deportation machine, our city and state are making it clear that New Yorkers should not have to face these threats alone.
We thank our city and state leaders for using their legal avenues to defend New Yorkers. We will continue to work alongside our partners, elected officials and immigrant communities to ensure that every New Yorker can access the services that they need without fear.
Every family deserves to live with dignity and respect, have the opportunity to live safely, care for their families, build a stable future. That is the New York we will continue to fight for. Thank you.
Corporation Counsel Banks: And next is Make the Road New York Health Program Director Arline Cruz.
Arline Cruz Escobar, Director of Health Programs, Make the Road New York: Good morning. ¡Buenos días! My name is Arline Cruz Escobar. I'm the director of health programs at Make the Road New York. I'm here today because we need to be clear about the serious consequences the new public charge rule will have on the health, economic stability and well-being of immigrant families across the communities here in New York and throughout the country.
While the new rule may directly apply to only certain applicants of a green card, its effects extend far beyond those individuals. We know from experience that policies like this generate widespread fear and confusion, particularly among mixed-status immigrant families.
As a result, many people who are not subject to public charge, including those fully eligible for public benefits, may avoid, delay or withdraw from critical programs out of fear that doing so could jeopardize themselves or a family member and the potential to adjust their immigration status in the future.
The consequences are profound, and we are already witnessing the chilling effects that the new rule is intended to create. The federal government itself estimated that reduced participation in public programs could decrease government spending by up to $13 billion annually, largely due to lower enrollment among U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, especially children.
Arlene Cruz Escobar, Director, Make the Road New York Health Program: Thank you to everyone who's helping her.
So, the stakes could not be higher. We risk seeing families postpone medical care until conditions become emergencies, more children arrive at school hungry, more families experience housing instability and more families face avoidable financial hardship.
At a time when many New Yorkers are already struggling with the rising costs of living, access to public benefits should not be viewed as a sign of dependency. These programs are essential supports that enable families to meet basic needs, safeguard their health and establish a foundation for long-term economic security.
Although the new rule is not yet in effect, we have been hearing the concerns about the rule for months. Families who fear that participation in such programs as Medicaid or SNAP could negatively affect their ability to obtain or even maintain a lawful immigration status either now or in the future.
Green card holders have asked whether they should disenroll from public health insurance. Parents with pending green card applications have questioned whether it's safe to receive SNAP on behalf of their U.S. citizen child. These concerns are not hypothetical. We witnessed the same fear and confusion in 2019, and we are seeing those fears resurface today as families seek guidance in our offices daily.
I spoke with the mother of a U.S. citizen child with a disability who depends on Medicaid to access essential medical care and maintain a stable quality of life. Despite her child's significant medical needs, she asked whether she should terminate her child's Medicaid coverage because she feared becoming a public charge. A guardian for a child with special immigrant juvenile status, a category explicitly exempt from public charge considerations, similarly questioned whether the child's Medicaid coverage could place them at risk.
Increasingly, parents of U.S. citizens are asking whether it's safe to participate in programs such as free school meals. No parent should ever be forced to confront such choices. Yet that is precisely the dilemma these policies create. They force families to choose between protecting their future and meeting their basic needs today. No family should have to decide between feeding their children, accessing health care, maintaining stable housing and pursuing a lawful immigration status.
We commend the City and the State for taking the steps to protect New Yorkers from harmful effects of these policies. And we continue to make every effort possible to ensure that we do not allow fear to become a barrier to health, nutrition and economic opportunity.
We must reject policies that undermine the well-being of immigrant families and instead uphold systems that allow all eligible individuals to access essential services without fear or stigma or discrimination. Our communities are strongest when families have the support they need to thrive. Protecting that principle is not only good policy, but it is essential to the future of New York.
And now I'm gonna say a few words in Spanish.
Buenos días. Mi nombre es Arline Cruz Escobar. La nueva regla de carga pública puede aplicarse solo a ciertos solicitantes de la tarjeta de residencia, pero sus efectos se extienden mucho más allá de esas personas.
Sabemos que por experiencia que políticas como esta generan temor y confusión entre las familias inmigrantes con estatus migratorios mixto en Nueva York y todo el país.
Las consecuencias son profundas. Corremos el riesgo de que más familias postpongan atención médica hasta que las condiciones se conviertan en emergencias, que los niños lleguen a la escuela con hambre, que más familias experimenten inestabilidad de vivienda y dificultades financieras que son evitables. La nueva regla aún no está en vigor.
Pero hemos estado recibiendo preguntas al respecto día tras día. Hablé con la madre de un niño ciudadano con Medicaid y una discapacidad para acceder a atención médica esencial y mantener una calidad de vida estable. A pesar de las importantes necesidades médicas de su hijo, preguntó si debería cancelar su cobertura médica por temor a convertirse en una carga pública.
Ninguna familia tiene que decidir entre alimentar a sus hijos, acceder a la atención médica, mantener una vida estable u obtener un estatus migratorio legal.
Felicitamos a la ciudad y el estado por tomar esta medida para proteger a los neoyorquinos. Y deberemos seguir haciendo todo lo posible para garantizar que el miedo no se convierta en una barrera para la salud, la nutrición y las oportunidades económicas.
Nuestras comunidades son más fuertes cuando las familias cuentan con el apoyo que necesitan para progresar. Protegemos este principio en una buena política, y es esencial para el futuro de Nueva York. Gracias.
Question: Mayor Mamdani, you have said that all New Yorkers will bear the cost of this rule. Can you quantify that? How much does the City expect to spend on emergency services if immigrant families stop using them?
And then my second question is what protections, immediate protections, can the City offer these families, including protection of their personal data, immigration status and information if a judge does block the rule from going into effect?
Mayor Mamdani: So, first and foremost, I just want to say very clearly that our intent here is not to win a temporary injunction. It is to stop the implementation of this rule entirely. And the reason for that is we know that this is something that will have devastating consequences for immigrant New Yorkers, far beyond just those who it technically applies to.
And a lot of the reason for that distinction is that we have seen a climate of fear for immigrants regardless of their status. I have a clear memory of going into a Dominican barbershop in Harlem and speaking to the barbers about ICE raids. And one of them turned to me and said, "We all have status, and yet few of us are showing up to work because they don't care who has status anymore when they're picking people up."
And so we're talking about something that we know categorically does not apply to certain sets of New Yorkers, and yet we're already seeing evidence of those kinds of New Yorkers unenrolling from lifesaving benefits.
So, at this time, I cannot give you an exact cost to the City because we are trying to do everything we can to ensure that we not only stop this rule but also that we communicate to New Yorkers that are not technically affected by this rule to not take decisions that they otherwise cannot undo once they move forward with it.
That is why one of our points of advice, separate from our legal action here, is for any immigrant New Yorker with concern to call our Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs hotline. Again, that number is 1-800-354-0365. And we encourage every immigrant New Yorker with concerns to go to a trusted legal provider before making those decisions.
You've heard it not only from those of us in government, but also outside of government, of the kinds of concerns they're hearing. These are actions that will have devastating consequences for New Yorkers across our city.
Question: The City and State were already going to have to grapple next year with changes to various benefits impacting citizens and noncitizens because of the "big Republican bill," SNAP and Medicaid and the like. So, if you have to deal with that and this, are you just generally worried about the health and safety of citizens in New York, both immigrant and nonimmigrant, with these changing federal policies?
Mayor Mamdani: I am incredibly worried about the impacts that both existing law will have once implemented as well as this rule change. And at a time when we are facing the reality of being the most expensive city in the United States of America, to see the federal government pursue rule changes and legislation that will make hungry New Yorkers hungrier, that will make poor New Yorkers poorer, it is a slap in the face to everything that we should be doing in this moment, which is to make it easier for working-class New Yorkers to afford their life here in the city.
Question: What is the city's backup plan in case you don't prevail? Can you tell us just a little bit more about what, if anything, you're planning in terms of helping people access food and or medical care?
And can you go into just a bit more detail, please, about your legal argument? And do you have to prove that there's a chilling effect specifically because of this rule? Is it about the chilling effect or about the people being entitled to the benefit?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I'm first going to answer your question as to what actions we're taking separate from the legal steps. And then I'm going to pass it over to our Corporation Counsel, Steve Banks, to add some additional details there.
In terms of the steps that we are taking, this rule is set to take effect on Friday of this week. We are spending each and every day right now looking to communicate with as many immigrant New Yorkers as possible about what this rule does and what it does not do.
We are equipping a lot of our city workers with the information of this so they can also communicate this. And we've set up this hotline to ensure that New Yorkers have a place they can call so that they know who they can ask for this kind of advice.
Before I pass it over to our Corporation Counsel, I do just want to bring up our public advocate, Jumaane Williams, because we've spoken about the fact of concern for immigrant New Yorkers. He has been a leader in this issue and has also correctly described himself as the highest-ranking Caribbean official here in our city.
And we know that these kinds of attacks, we have seen them every single week, and we've recently seen them against our Haitian brothers and sisters. We're seeing them continue with a broader population. I just wanted to know, public advocate, if there's anything you wanted to ask.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and thank you to the AG. As a son of immigrants, you know, this hits home as the highest-ranking Caribbean official and Black elected official, this is his home.
Oftentimes the Black immigrant experience is left out, but having also represented communities, particularly high populations of Haitian and Haitian immigrants and Haitian descendants. This, I need the media to really understand the chilling effect that this has, and really drive home the fact that even people this may not affect are really feeling it. And so, with the combination of the raids that are happening, the combination of getting rid of TPS, and now people trying to wade through legal arguments they may not understand, parts of our districts are ghost towns already as people are no longer coming out and supporting their businesses.
And now to have to make the decisions of whether they feed their children or not. The purpose of this is cruelty. That's it, cruelty and fear. That is the purpose of all of these immigrant decisions that are coming from the Trump White House and absolutely nothing else, particularly to non-White immigrants. I want to be clear about that.
And I say that every single time Donald Trump has said the only people who need assistance are white South Africans. Everyone else is left to fend for themselves. There is nothing ever that helps with public safety. None of this helps with public safety, all this does is create cruelty and violence. And I know it was said it will cause people to die. I want to add it will cost more people to die because people have already died because of Trump's policies. Thank you.
Question: Hi, I know you're telling people not to disenroll from benefits like SNAP. But assuming that people are afraid and maybe they don't sign up or maybe they do disenroll, is there a situation you think the city will have to step in to try to make sure that the needs are being met?
Mayor Mamdani: We are going to exhaust every tool that we have to take care of New Yorkers. And I want to make very clear, when we speak about immigrants, we are not somehow speaking about a separate population from New York; we're speaking about New Yorkers. I myself stand here as the first immigrant mayor of our city in generations.
And we are going to exhaust every tool to fight this rule. We are also going to ensure that everything we can do, especially in response to HR 1, we are doing all with the knowledge that there is no city in this country that can make up, dollar for dollar, what the federal government is looking to cut in terms of services to those who need it.
And the argument that these kinds of rules will save the U.S. government money - it is money that we are going to have to pay at a later stage at a higher price because people don't stop getting sick. People simply will get more sick, and then the first time that they will interact with a health care provider will be at the emergency room.
And you look at everyone who is here, you look at public advocate, assembly members, state senators, city council people, advocates, the attorney general, all of us have spoken to health care providers who have told us how difficult it is for them to be working in an emergency room and treat it as a primary care doctor, because that is the world that we live in now.
And Steve, if you want to add to the legal issue.
Corporation Counsel Banks: Just very briefly, Melissa, it's a 100-page complaint, and it required 100 pages because there's so much illegality in the rule that that's what was required.
This is not just a repeat of 2019 when the City and State went to court and beat back a similar public charge effort. It's even more harmful and more extreme.
Read the complaint and you will see that the chilling effect is an illustration of the problem with the illegality, but on every one of those 100 pages is a legal claim that was strong in 2019 and it's even stronger now.
Attorney General James: Yeah, just in regard to your question, it's in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because it's arbitrary and capricious. There's no meaningful decision with regard to these rules.
Two, the agency has exceeded its authority. This public charge rule goes back to 1822, where Congress basically said that it only applies to individuals who cannot support themselves, not individuals who apply every now and then for public assistance because they fall on hard times. And you should not also equate public charge with dependency. This has nothing to do with dependency; this has to do with opaque rules and rules where you're giving so much authority to immigration officers to consider every and any public benefit, including school lunch.
Question: Hello, Mr. Mayor. Well, I have a question. Have you spoken to President Trump about this? You have successful conversations with him in the past about topics that you have different opinion on. Have you spoken to him about this, and would you expect anything to hear from him?
Mayor Mamdani: The president and I have an ongoing conversation around immigration policy. We've both been very clear about the fact that we have deep disagreements on that policy, whether it pertains to ICE raids or TPS protections or public charge.
This is a disagreement that continues. And the case that I'm making is that this is a rule that will hurt this city. And we all stand here united in our commitment to protecting this city, and we will do everything we can, talk to everyone we can, to ensure that we can actually protect New Yorkers.
Question: My name is Abu Taher, I'm from Time Television, and my question is, the Trump administration is saying, what about what they are doing, it's previous law, they are just executing the law, what is the answer of this?
And number two, the immigration, you know, the people who process the immigration for their families, they're imposing new rules, which is they will check the sponsor credit history. Which a lot of people are afraid about, that they cannot bring their families, does it include your lawsuit that this is also illegal?
Attorney General James: So, first, let me say that the difference between the 2019 rule versus the rule that we are challenging today, they did not allow federal immigration officers to have so much discretion. The reality is that the guidelines fail to even indicate what immigration officers should consider.
Two, with regard to the credit history of sponsors, that also is included in our papers as well, but it's important that individuals understand that this is really all about cruelty. Cruelty is the point. Having a chilling effect on immigrants is the point. Letting individuals know that they are not welcomed here is the point. Immigration animus is the point. The fact that you are different from everyone else is the [point]. And the fact that you're going to deny individuals who are sick and hungry and homeless benefits is just beyond the pale. And that's why we are seeking in the state of New York to vacate this rule. It is unconstitutional, illegal, and we urge the judge to make that decision before Friday.
Question: With the UN next week, just wondering if there's been an update yet on your security clearance. And then, speaking of the UN next week, any sort of message you have? I know that you had said that you would maybe hope that people protest the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Just wondering, you know, is there still a call to protest, and what are your thoughts?
Mayor Mamdani: Thank you. So, I just want to be very clear. My prior remarks were that if people choose to do so, then they are able to because that is the law here in New York City. I continue to leave it to New Yorkers to make their own decisions.
When it comes to your question about security clearance, the process of my getting a federal security clearance is ongoing. It's moving within the typical timeline for receiving one. A number of senior administration officials have a security clearance at this time. The NYPD also regularly briefs me on intelligence and investigations that do not involve federally classified information, and we will continue to move forward.
Question: We've just come off the back of a couple of weeks of really scary news in the AI space. So just a few examples: AI agents hacking and covering their tracks, going rogue, AI researchers quitting, citing the potential end of humanity.
Also in New York City, there's warnings of AI taking masses of tech jobs of young people that have been training in this space. I feel there's a sense of fear in New York City. I know it's not something city government talks about frequently, but what is your message to New Yorkers who are feeling scared and confused about this information?
And then secondly, there's a City Council member who's calling for an AI Emergency Task Force to be started potentially in the mayor's OTI. Is this something that you could commit to?
Mayor Mamdani: So first what I will say is, like many Americans across the country, the news coming out of this technology in recent days and weeks has been incredibly alarming. We are speaking about reports that, as you said, include suggestions that this could lead to the end of humanity. And whether it's the Hugging Face incident or it's the assertion from one of the heads of Anthropic that these kinds of incidents are occurring at every single AI company, we should be seeing a far greater response from the federal government on this issue, one that has the urgency befitting any conversation around the end of humanity.
And in terms of what City government is going to do, we are going to continue to explore all of the avenues we have to protect New Yorkers. When you speak about New Yorkers having their own concerns - recently, we made the decision to ban the use of generative AI from 2K through eighth grade, and that is an ongoing conversation within City government.
Question: I have two questions. One is actually an on-topic from before. So, the public charge rule change is obviously in addition to existing rules, and this concept of public charge. I'm just wondering how you feel about that concept sort of philosophically, sort of taking aside whether it's legal and setting aside this latest change. Like, how do you feel about the concept of public charge and its use in immigration status?
And then, I wanted to follow up on Jesse's question: DCWP, you have a lot of federal regulatory folks in your administration; do you see a role outside of what you did in the Department of Education for the City to get into regulating AI?
Mayor Mamdani: First, I just want to underline the importance of the federal government taking this threat seriously. Too much of this conversation has been dominated by concerns of profit or an international arms race and too little about concerns for humanity at large.
And we will continue to explore every avenue we have in New York City government, all while knowing that there needs to be greater leadership at the federal level. And then to your first question, what concerns me so deeply is that in a climate where federal immigration officials have shown no interest in law and order, despite that being their stated objective, you have an entire population that spans from those on visas, those with green cards, those with citizenship, those who are simply children of immigrants, being terrified at any and all immigration policies and rule changes.
And the decisions that terror and fear not only will lead families to take, but have already led families to take, [are ones] that will change people's lives for the worse for years to come. We're speaking about taking people out of Medicaid, of SNAP, of so many of the things that people rely on because they're lifesaving. And that to me is what is incredibly concerning, that this is, without hyperbole, life or death for so many.
Question: Do you have any position on using cash assistance in some of the pre-existing public charge rules? Do you think that that's appropriate? How do you think about this in a more general sense?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that the policy that the prior administration took was the correct policy of refusing to defend this in court.
Question: I'm wondering about your reaction to a recent lawsuit against the Strategic Response Unit of the Police Department alleging that overtime assignments in at least one of the units were distributed on a racial basis, and also that there was a supervisor in the unit to basically beat arrest numbers from previous times. I wonder what your reaction to that lawsuit is as well as that your administration is now in a position to be spending money and time defending these allegations.
Mayor Mamdani: I think those allegations are incredibly troubling. And this is the first that I am hearing of them. This is something that I will follow up after this press conference. I continue to believe in the importance of decoupling our response to terror threats from our response to the use of First Amendment rights. And that is a longstanding position and that is one that we will deliver on.
Question: Do you have any sort of timeline? I know the department versus Office of Community Safety is not totally in your control, but I guess does this give you any urgency to get things moving on that end?
Mayor Mamdani: The disbanding of the Strategic Response Group is something that I would separate out from a conversation around the Office of Community Safety. It is a conversation that I'm having with our police commissioner in a manner that we do it that can respect New Yorkers' rights and keep New Yorkers safe.
Question: Legionnaires. Yes. What is the latest that the City is doing to investigate the Bronx outbreak, and are there any lessons learned from the East Side outbreak, and what are you doing differently?
Mayor Mamdani: So as of yesterday, the latest is that 10 people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease within this cluster. One New Yorker has tragically passed away, and we are heartbroken by this loss of life. We are thinking of their loved ones and sending them our condolences.
We continue to encourage any New Yorker who has experienced flu-like symptoms - be they cough, fever, difficulty breathing, and that they live or work or have visited the area - to contact a health care provider. In terms of the steps that we have taken, I want to assure New Yorkers we are moving aggressively to contain the spread. The Health Department has sampled all cooling towers in the area. They did so on Thursday within 12 hours of identifying the cluster. The community health outreach workers started to canvass the neighborhood the next day, on Friday. That continued through the weekend, and the initial screening test results were completed. And the orders to clean and disinfect 10 cooling towers were issued on Saturday. By the end of today, all 10 cooling towers will have been fully cleaned and fully disinfected.
And what we are doing is - there have been a number of new policies we have implemented, I think, as of about a week or two ago that we have announced. We are always going to keep pushing on the question of what more we can do, because this has been an issue that New Yorkers have had to deal with for far too many years, and we are looking to develop any kind of tool that can help to ensure that Legionnaires' is something that we're able to combat.
Question: Is there any proactive investigation into other cooling towers in the area? And how often - I know there's this 30-day rule to review and inspect the towers - how much of that is being taken care of, and is there a database on that, that these are getting investigated and these are getting inspected every 30 days?
Mayor Mamdani: Sorry, the beginning of your question, could you say it one more time?
Question: Yeah, just any other proactive measures - if you're looking at any other towers in the area besides those tents.
Mayor Mamdani: So, I will just bring up our commissioner, Dr. Alastair Martin, to speak to additional details of the proactive steps.
Commissioner Martin: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, first, let me just say that for the one individual who has passed, our hearts are with that individual's loved ones, their friends, their family. And that death represents to us all the more reason to really make sure that everything that needs to happen happens quickly, aggressively and effectively. And that's exactly what we're doing here now.
With regard to the cooling towers, the region that we're looking at contained about 20 different cooling towers. All of those, as you heard the mayor say, have been sampled, and over the weekend, every single one of the cooling towers that had a PCR-positive result [has] been ordered to do the full drainage, the cleaning and the disinfection of that tower. We have the vast majority of those that are done, and the ones that have not been done yet will be done by the end of today.
We're working to identify all the data with regard to the history of the monthly compliance with those cooling towers. But I'm proud to say that we've been on target with our annual inspections for every single one of those towers.
