ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — U.S. Congressmember Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, wants the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who just won the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor, should lose his U.S. citizenship.
Ogles sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday alleging that Mamdani lied on his citizenship application by not stating that he supports terrorism.
Ogles tweeted, “If someone lies during the naturalization process—especially about support for terrorists—they should be denaturalized and deported.” He specifically pointed to a Mamdani lyric that said “Free the Holy Land 5” in a song titled “Salaam” from 2017.
Mamdani became a citizen in 2018. The “Holy Land Five” refers to leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. In 2008, a jury found them guilty of giving money to Hamas, which is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
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Besides the alleged dishonesty, Ogles said that when someone “publicly glorifies a group convicted of financing terrorism, it is entirely appropriate for federal authorities to inquire whether that individual engaged in non-public forms of support.” He also pointed out that Mamdani “refused opportunities to reject the pro-terrorist rallying cry to ‘globalize the intifada.’”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, wrote its own letter to Attorney General Bondi on Friday. CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw said the request from Ogles was baseless and that targeting someone over “political beliefs, religious faith, or ethnic background would violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.”
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McCaw argued that the Supreme Court has already ruled that U.S. citizenship can’t be taken away for political beliefs, speech, or protected associations. He described “denaturalization” as a “rare legal measure reserved for cases involving clear and material fraud in the naturalization process, not constitutionally protected speech or political dissent.”
CAIR also defended Mamdani’s criticism of the Holy Land Foundation case, saying that groups like the American Civil Liberties Union criticized the case. They raised concerns about the court allowing anonymous witnesses and prejudicial evidence. The first trial in the case ended without a clear decision because jurors couldn’t agree, and the second trial led to convictions after the government “flouted due process,” according to CAIR.
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Ogles also repeatedly called Mamdani “little Muhammad” and described him as “an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York.” CAIR said these comments were racist and Islamophobic.
According to CAIR, they pushed House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to publicly repudiate Ogles in 2024 over calls to commit violence against children in Gaza. “I think we should kill them all, if that makes you feel better,” he said in a viral video.
Check out the letters from Ogles and CAIR to Bondi below:
