Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested on Tuesday by ICE agents at an immigration courthouse in Lower Manhattan. He was attempting to escort a migrant, whom agents were trying to arrest.
Lander was charged with assaulting a federal officer. This is one of several high-profile instances when federal authorities have arrested a Democratic politician — following Senator Alex Padilla’s (D-CA) arrest last week.
His arrest comes just one week before New York City’s mayoral primary election is set to be held.
The Democratic mayoral primary election is on June 24, allowing voters to rank their top five candidates using ranked choice voting. If a candidate receives over 50% of the first-choice votes, the candidate wins the race outright. If no candidate passes the 50% threshold, the candidate with the least amount of votes is eliminated, and the voting continues in new rounds until only two candidates remain — whoever is leading the two wins the primary.
In a New York Times opinion panel conducted last week, Lander received majority support, stating he is the best candidate to lead the city and replace Mayor Eric Adams.
Background
55-year-old Lander is currently the 45th New York City Comptroller. He’s held office since January 1, 2022, and was previously a member of the New York City Council from the 39th district, and an affordable housing leader, according to his campaign website.
In May, Lander and the Comptroller Office voted against the designations of Wells Fargo, Citibank, and JPMorgan Chase, saying they should “not yield to Donald Trump’s far-right, discriminatory, anti-climate, anti-DEI agenda.”
Lander decided to run for Mayor on July 30, 2024, stepping away from a good shot at being reelected as Comptroller.
Lander is a “progressive member of the Democratic party,” and has been affiliated with “Working Families,” and the “Democratic Socialists of America.”
According to his campaign website, Lander is a “dad, a Brooklynite, and a lifelong public servant who has spent his career solving New Yorkers problems.” He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago, and his master of sciences at Pratt Institute, and University College London.
Lander and his wife, Meg Barnette, have two kids, and he identifies as Jewish, according to his speech in May.
Key Policy Stances
In Lander’s policy proposal, he says he wants to end street homelessness for people with serious mental health conditions, end retail theft, solve the housing crisis, and make New York City a “better-run city,” according to his campaign website.
His website also says he wants to “stand up to President Donald Trump,” and his threat to “our neighbors, and our services.” He plans on standing up for women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, workers, immigrants, people of color, and other minority groups.
In an interview with the New York Times, Lander said his most important issues follow in this order: affordability, public safety, Trump, cleaning up corruption, and making the city run better.
“I’ll put affordability first,” Lander said. “That’s what’s pushing people out of New York.”
Previously, current mayor Adams has criticized Lander, saying he’s not “investing in Israel as comptroller,” and that he’s not managing the city’s pension funds well.
Lander responded, saying that investments in Israel have grown on his watch, and that he’s the first to publish pension performance online.
Lander has received endorsements from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and New York Attorney General Letitia James, among others.
Reactions
After Lander’s arrest, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who is also running for Mayor, and who Lander has cross-endorsed, ran to the scene to denounce the arrest, contributing to the publicity.
“ICE has no interest in law, no interest in order,” Mamdani said. “It only has an interest in terrorizing people across this country.”
According to a survey conducted between June 9 and 12 by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, 27% of likely voters plan to vote for Mamdani next week. Ahead of him is former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo with 38%. Cuomo has also advocated for Lander after his arrest.
“I think it was a disgusting display of thuggery of Trump’s ICE. I mean, it was breathtakingly ugly and rude. And then what I thought about, it was this is a city official with security guards. Imagine a family, a family in a Home Depot, or a family in a school,” Cuomo said. “And you are attacked by ICE thugs. Imagine the situation they’re in.
While the Marist Institute survey doesn’t reflect the public’s reaction to Lander’s arrest, this may help him more than hurt him. Lander is considered to be sitting right below Mamdani in third place.
One of Lander’s key parts of his campaign is standing up to Trump, and the first thing he did when he was released was denounce Trump’s deportation policy.
NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE BRAD LANDER ARRESTED BY ICE AT IMMIGRATION HEARING
The polls will close at 9 p.m. on June 24, but there might not be a primary winner within the month.
“Not a day goes by where New Yorkers don’t stop me to express their frustration with the city’s direction,” Lander said in a speech. “The messages are always the same: People want a safer, more affordable, more livable, and better-run city.”