Is Zohran Mamdani at risk of losing his US citizenship?

Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary for New York Mayor has not gone down well with the political establishment.

Mamdani beat ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to win the Democratic primary for Mayor.

But whereas the Democrats are merely freaked out that a 33-year-old self-described socialist could be the next mayor of New York, the Republicans are completely losing it over the possibility.

In fact even, some of them have called form Mamdani to be denaturalised and deported.

Mamdani is set to take on New York Mayor Eric Adams – a former Democrat running as an Independent – in the upcoming election in November.

But what happened? Is Mamdani really at  risk of losing his citizenship?

What happened?

First, let’s take a brief look at Mamdani.

Mamdani is the son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and Ugandan author Mahmood Mamdani.

Mamdani, who is Muslim and of Indian-origin , moved to New York at age 7 with his parents.

Mamdani gained his citizenship in 2018 via the legal process – known as naturalisation.

Mamdani has been a progressive activist for years – going on strike with taxi drivers for debt relief to the tune of $450 million and getting over $100 million to improve the subway and implement a pilot programme for free buses.

Mamdani was elected to the New York state Assembly in 2020.

During this mayoral primary, Mamdani was endorsed by several high-profile figures on the left including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC).

Many within his own party – the centrists, corporatists and those who seek the backing of billionaires and Wall Street – fear Mamdani’s win is a harbinger of things to come.

In simple terms, they fear getting primaried – or losing their seats – to Mamdani-like figures in the future.

However, the Republicans see the possible election of someone like Mamdani – an unabashed progressive and a populist – to a powerful position in New York as an existential threat to their way of life.

Which is perhaps why some of them have reacted with such fury.

For example, Tennessee Republican Representative Andy Ogles described him as “little Muhammad" and demanded that he be deported.

“He needs to be deported," Ogles wrote on X. “Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalisation proceedings."

Ogles said he had written to Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether Mamdani had obtained his citizenship via fraud.

The New York Young Republican Club also called on US President Donald Trump to invoke the Communist Control Act to “promptly deport” Mamdani.

This act was signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954.

The legislation theoretically disallowed communists – which Mamdani isn’t – from holding positions in the government.

But that hasn’t stopped some a calling for a return to McCarthyism of the 1950s.

“New York City is on the verge of electing a socialist for mayor,” Senator Mike Collins wrote. “Might be time to bring back the committee.”

This is widely considered a shameful era in American history when Joseph McCarthy’s Un-American Activities Committee persecuted many innocents on accusations of being a communist.

Trump himself has harsh words for Mamdani.

“It’s finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor. We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous,” Trump wrote on social media.

“He’s not very smart, he’s got AOC+3, Dummies ALL, backing him, and even our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, is groveling over him," Trump added. “With our future Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani…our Country is really screwed.”

Republican New York councilwoman Vickie Paladini on June 2 claimed it would “insane” for voters to elect someone who hasn’t been a citizen for more than 10 years, “much less a radical leftist who actually hates everything about the country and is here specifically to undermine everything we’ve ever been about”.

“Deport,” she added.

Is Mamdani really at  risk of losing his citizenship?

He isn’t.

Thus far there seems to be zero evidence that Mamdani has violated any laws.

Denaturalisation – meaning stripping Mamdani of his citizenship – can only be done under extremely specific conditions.

This includes obtaining citizenship by perpetrating a fraud on the government during the process or wrongly and deliberately misrepresenting facts.

Associating with a terror group that wants to overthrow the US government is also grounds for denaturalisation.

However, the Republicans’ alarm and outrage about Mamdani really isn’t about the law.

What this is actually about is the Republicans’ fear that a figure like Mamdani – young and unabashedly progressive – and his platform could prove widely popular with voters.

Even though Mamdani could never become president – he would be in the same boat as actor and former California governor Arnold Arnold Schwarzenegger (a Republican) – he could be a figurehead of the party that Democrats could rally around.

Simply put, Mamdani could conceivably someday become a threat to them electorally.

Even if the Republicans and Bondi open an investigation against Mamdani and bring charges against him, it is highly unlikely that the courts will rule in their favour without actual evidence of wrongdoing.

After all, the courts have repeatedly slapped down attempts by the Trump administration to overreach.

In fact, judges have even called out the the Trump administration for lying in court.

Even the Supreme Court, which is stacked with the president’s appointees, would be loath to do act on trumped-up charges.

Or so one would hope.

With inputs from agencies