Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is headed to the Big Apple to meet with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, bucking an invitation to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s oversight hearing Thursday morning.
The two Democratic mayors are meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss public safety and protection of immigrants within each of their jurisdictions, Mamdani confirmed during a Thursday press conference.
“I look forward to getting to know him and also to speaking to the importance of protecting each one of our residents, including the immigrants who call both of our cities home,” Mamdani said regarding his meeting with Frey.
The Twin City mayor was brought up during the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s hearing on Thursday morning with Minnesota government officials, as House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) railed against Frey for declining the committee’s invitation to testify during the hearing.
“It’s a shame that [State Attorney General Keith Ellison‘s] partner in crime, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, declined the invitation to testify here today,” Emmer said. “Frey clearly has no problem talking about Minneapolis to any member of the media who will listen. So it makes you wonder if he’s too afraid to repeat those same lies under oath. I guess time will tell.”
Frey’s office did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment.
Frey spoke out on X on Thursday morning in celebration of border czar Tom Homan‘s announcement that the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota would come to a halt. The Trump administration’s move to conclude the two-and-a-half-month surge came after anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests, centered in Minneapolis, erupted across the state in response to the surge and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of homeland security officers.
“This operation has been catastrophic for our neighbors and businesses, and now it’s time for a great comeback,” Frey said. “We will show the same commitment to our immigrant residents and endurance in this reopening, and I’m hopeful the whole country will stand with us as we move forward.”
Mamdani said Thursday’s meeting comes as part of his effort to build relationships with mayors across the country.
“I’m looking forward to having a conversation with Mayor Frey and also to building relationships with mayors cross the country, as we chart out how we can respond to the needs of the people we represent and what we can learn from other cities and what we can share from the lessons of our own,” Mamdani said.