New York’s Mayor Doesn’t Decide Who Is Welcome

Zohran Mamdani has finally acknowledged what should have been obvious from the moment he said it during his campaign: the mayor of New York has no authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Instead of leaving his remarks stand with that concession, Mr. Mamdani pressed forward. He called on the federal government to join the International Criminal Court and execute its warrant, then added: “I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.” The next morning at City Hall, asked what frustrated New Yorkers should do when Mr. Netanyahu arrives for September’s United Nations General Assembly, he replied that “protest is something that we will always respect,” adding that he would “leave it to New Yorkers themselves.” Whether one agrees or disagrees with Mr. Netanyahu is beside the point. The question is what it means for the mayor of New York to declare a visiting foreign leader “not welcome” in the city he governs. The answer should concern every New Yorker for a mayor does not own his city, he serves it. That distinction is crucial because New York is unlike any other municipality in America. It is home to the United Nations, and under the 1947 Headquarters Agreement, the United States is bound by treaty to admit foreign delegations traveling to the world body. Every September, presidents, prime ministers, and diplomats arrive for the General Assembly—close allies and governments Americans rightly condemn alike. The mayor’s responsibility is not to determine which guest deserves civic hospitality. It is to ensure that New York remains a safe, orderly place where diplomacy can proceed under the protection of the law. It must be clear that law and order is not a favor to foreign leaders; it is the city’s formal, institutional role. Certainty, every mayor is entitled to political opinions and the same First Amendment rights as any citizen. But being in office changes the nature of political speech. From the podium, the mayor speaks as the city’s chief executive, with obligations an activist or candidate does not bear. A mayor should defend the constitutional right to peaceful protest. He should also make equally clear that demonstrations must remain lawful, that intimidation will not be tolerated, and that every resident, visitor, diplomat, and police officer deserves protection. Those are not competing commitments. They are complementary ones. Leaving the choice “to New Yorkers themselves” is not the same thing. Declaring a foreign leader unwelcome one night and gesturing toward protest the next morning—without a meaningful word about keeping those demonstrations lawful and every community safe—does not cure the problem, it accentuates it. What if a future mayor declared the president of China unwelcome, or the secretary-general of the United Nations, or the prime minster of the United Kingdom. New Yorkers would immediately recognize the problem; the mayoral office cannot become a vehicle for announcing which foreign dignitaries deserve the city’s welcome. Those judgments are not the mayor’s to make. The federal government determines who may enter the United States. International law governs the immunities of diplomats and visiting delegations. New York’s responsibility is more practical and more important: to preserve public order while respecting constitutional liberties. There is another reason the mayor’s words matter. New York’s Jewish community has lived through heightened anxiety, harassment, and far too many antisemitic incidents since the October 7 tragedy. While a mayor cannot control every protest, a mayor can set the tone during tense times and try to reduce the risk of confrontation, not heighten it. The city’s own legal review reminded Mayor Mamdani that he lacks the authority to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu. The office he now holds should remind him of something else: the mayor of New York does not decide who is welcome in the city; it is his duty is to ensure that everyone lawfully here is protected equally under the law.