Zohran Mamdani deportation: Could NYC mayoral candidate lose citizenship? What US immigration law says; explained

House Republicans have made a push to strip New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani of his citizenship and possibly deport him from the US.

Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in New York City's mayoral race, could find his citizenship status in trouble if House Republicans have their way. At least two GOP members expressed their desire to have Mamdani's path to citizenship probed, and possibly deport him from the US, New York Post reported.

Zohran Mamdani's Muslim identity has purportedly come under attack as NYC votes to choose its next mayor. (AFP)

Zohran Mamdani's Muslim identity has purportedly come under attack as NYC votes to choose its next mayor. (AFP)

This report comes even as early voting for NYC' mayoral race has begun. The demand from the GOP lawmakers was loudly echoed on social media platform X, with many joining in the demands to have Mamdani deported.

Notably, the 34-year-old's Muslim identity has come under fire in recent times, with Andrew Cuomo leveling a ‘racist’ jab. Even Vice President JD Vance didn't hold back, when Mamdani described the situation for his aunty, a Muslim, in the city after 9/11.

Vance wrote on X, that as per Mamdani, the actual victim of the Twin Towers attack was his aunt, who ‘allegedly’ got some ‘bad looks’.

Given that Mamdani is a US citizen, he'd have to be stripped of that before he's deported. Here's a look at what US immigration laws say.

Can Mamdani be stripped of US citizenship and deported?

Randy Fine, the representative from Florida, has demanded feds ‘review every naturalization of the past 30 years – starting with Mamdani.’ Speaking to the Post, he said “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.”

He continued, “I know that there’s a lot of us that are very, very concerned about the enemy within – people who have come to this country to become citizens, to destroy it,” adding, “If they’re not Americans, they can’t be in office.”

Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee has been pushing the Department of Justice to probe Mamdani, since June. He claimed that the socialist lied in the sworn statement when he became a naturalized citizen in 2018.

“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. That’s a communist organization which, quite frankly, at that time, would have disqualified him from becoming a United States citizen,” he told Newsmax.

As per US immigration law, those who have ‘been a member of or affiliated with the Communist or any other totalitarian party’ are inadmissible. According to the current form, would-be-citizens have to disclose if they have ever, in any way, been associated with ‘any Communist or totalitarian party anywhere in the world’. Notably, Mamdani has specifically denied being a communist. The Justice Department has not ruled out a probe of the mayoral candidate either.

“Due to the Democrats’ shutdown, congressional correspondence is delayed. The department does not comment on the status of ongoing or potential investigations,” a spokesperson with the department told the Post. While Mamdani faces no immediate action, chatter among conservative circles online has strongly sought his deportation.

One person on X remarked “deport him already Zohran Mamdani he faked his citizenship and pushing his religious beliefs by force and hatred and hatred to law enforcement.” Another added, “Denaturalize and deport Mamdani. We are finished with his lies. He has exposed himself. Vote Republican. Vote Curtis Sliwa Mayor of NYC.” Meanwhile, yet another said, “Denaturalize and deport Zohran Mamdani," sharing an image likely hinting at Mamdani's communist sympathies.

If Mamdani does lose his citizenship, then he could be deported through the process of ‘denaturalization’, which many have called for online. The recent outrage against Mamdani stems from an image he shared alongside imam Siraj Wahhaj. He was named an un-indicted co-conspirator to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that claimed six lives