Mamdani did manage to quiet the audience down for a few minutes, which he spent reflecting on how amazing it felt to be supported in the city he grew up in, and marveled that these were the same halls where he once saw Hakim and Cheb Khaled, two massive North African superstars. The politician made headlines early on in his campaign when he confronted former ICE director Tom Homan in Albany, New York, challenging him by shouting “How many more New Yorkers [will you detain] without charge?” and calling Khalil’s arrest “a blatant assault on the First Amendment and a sign of advancing authoritarianism under Trump.” Seeing the two men share a stage, one newly liberated and the other newly ascendant, fused immigrant and Palestinian human rights and the potential for political change in a single, indelible image. Before stepping off the stage, Mamdani took the mic one last time to say, “I just want to say welcome home, Khalil,” who returned: “I’m looking forward to raising my son in a city where you are the mayor.”
Author: Aymann Ismail
Published at: 2025-06-30 20:59:43
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