Zohran Mamdani, the Indian-origin Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, hit back at US President Donald Trump on his threats to have the Indian-origin Democrat arrested and deported.

After securing the nominee position, Mamdani publicly vowed to block US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from arresting undocumented immigrants in the city if elected. In response, Trump threatened to have the mayoral candidate arrested and also questioned the legality of his citizenship.

Zohran Mamdani is the son of Indian-filmmaker Mira Nair who immigrated to the United States from Uganda in 1998 when he was seven years old.

Reacting to Trump’s remarks, Mamdani in a post on X, said, "The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorise our city."

"His statements don't just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadow: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation," he added.

Mamdani also denounced New York mayor Eric Adams for echoing Trump's "division, distraction and hate."

"Voters will resoundingly reject it in November," Mamdani concluded the post in a confident tone.

Adams will seek re-election in November as an independent. Mamdani officially clinched the Democratic nomination, defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

This isn’t the first time Trump has targeted Mamdani. The president previously called him a “communist” and a “lunatic”, warning that if he becomes mayor, he’ll “have to do the right thing” or risk losing federal funding.