New York state Assemblyman and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said that a "cornerstone" of his campaign is to increase funding for the legal defense of illegal immigrants facing deportation.

Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who won the Democratic nomination in the mayoral race, said on MSNBC's "The Weekend: Primetime" that, "400,000 of our residents are right now in urgent risk of deportation."

"A cornerstone of our campaign is to increase funding for those very legal defense services by more than $100 million so that we can ensure we're taking every step we can to keep New Yorkers safe, to keep New Yorkers together, and to show the world that they are welcome in this city," Mamdani said.

New York City's budget for 2026 includes $54.5 million in fundin

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