Zohran Mamdani, lightning rod candidate for New York City mayor who’s a naturalized U.S. citizen (2018), originally from Uganda, has drawn intense scrutiny for his political activism, past incendiary artistic expressions, and affiliations with extremist causes. Many in New York and across the country have demanded that Mamdani’s citizenship be revoked — and that he be deported — citing his communist ideology, dangerous rap lyrics and antisemitic and hateful public statements as evidence of disloyalty to the United States.
Mamdani has been a member of the New York State Assembly since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he is the Democratic primary winner for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election.
There indeed are compelling legal, national security, and political grounds that Mamdani is deportable under U.S. law when evidence substantiates fraud or concealed ties to prohibited groups during his naturalization process seven years ago. Let’s explore the case for his denaturalization, examining specific evidence from Mamdani’s actions, legal mechanisms, and the broader implications of allowing such figures to retain citizenship. (Disclaimer: I’m not an immigration attorney).
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), specifically Section 340(a), provides a clear pathway for denaturalization when U.S. citizenship is obtained through “willful misrepresentation or concealment of a material fact” during the naturalization process. This includes lying about affiliations with groups deemed threats to national security, such as terrorist organizations, or failing to disclose activities that demonstrate a lack of allegiance to the United States. Mamdani, in the past, was a rapper under the name Young Cardamom, and he particularly referenced the “Holy Land Five” in a rap song, as hard evidence of sympathy for Hamas, a designated terrorist organization under 18 U.S.C. § 2339B.
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