Could a New York City mayoral frontrunner lose his citizenship over controversial stances?
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has called on the Department of Justice to investigate Zohran Mamdani, a New York State assemblyman and leading candidate for NYC mayor, to denaturalize and deport him due to concerns over past statements and associations tied to anti-Israel rhetoric and alleged support for individuals linked to Hamas, as Fox News reports.
This saga began when Ogles first raised questions about Mamdani’s background and naturalization process in June, though the exact year remains unclear from available data.
Mamdani, a self-declared Democratic socialist with dual U.S.-Uganda citizenship, became a naturalized American in 2018.
Under U.S. law, deporting a citizen is off the table unless denaturalization is proven in federal court due to fraudulent means—a high bar that Ogles seems eager to test.
The Tennessee congressman’s push isn’t just a policy quibble; it’s a signal that some in the GOP view progressive figures like Mamdani as a challenge to national loyalty.
Public reports have spotlighted Mamdani’s refusal to condemn violent anti-American rhetoric and his praise for individuals convicted of aiding Hamas, notably through a 2017 rap song under the pseudonym "Mr. Cardamom," where he lauded the founders of the Holy Land Foundation, an organization tied to the Palestinian terror group in U.S. courts.
While Mamdani has never openly endorsed Hamas, his repeated sidesteps on the issue—until a recent debate—have left critics, including Ogles, questioning his true stance.
Adding fuel to the fire, Mamdani’s vocal criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, including a bold pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he steps into NYC, hasn’t exactly won him friends on the right.
Ogles isn’t mincing words, stating, "No individual, regardless of public office or public profile, should be shielded from accountability if credible evidence indicates deception or concealment during the citizenship process," in a pointed jab at Mamdani’s naturalization transparency.
That’s a sharp reminder that citizenship isn’t just a paperwork formality—it’s a pledge of allegiance, and Ogles seems to think Mamdani might have missed the memo.
He doubled down, urging, "I again urge the Department to open a formal investigation into whether Mr. Mamdani's public expressions of support for the Holy Land Foundation's convicted leadership, and his ongoing rhetoric sympathetic to anti-Israel and anti-U.S. movements, were disclosed as required during his naturalization."
On the campaign trail, Mamdani has faced repeated accusations of being too cozy with Hamas, the group behind the devastating October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, though he’s tried to pivot by portraying himself as a moderate ready to serve all New Yorkers.
During the second mayoral debate on October 22, 2025, at LaGuardia Community College in Queens, he finally addressed some criticism, but efforts to reach his campaign for comment by Fox News Digital went unanswered—hardly a way to douse the flames of controversy.
