In safely blue areas of the country, constituents are asking themselves who has the audacity to stand up to President Donald Trump’s extreme immigration agenda. Earlier this week, New York City constituents got their answer.
On June 17, New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while escorting a man out of immigration court in Manhattan. Lander, who repeatedly asked to see a judicial warrant for the man ICE was attempting to detain, was held in custody for four hours. The federal government is still trying to decide whether it will charge him with a crime.
“We’re not just showing up for just a few families, or for the strength of our democracy,” Lander told the supporters waiting for him outside the federal courthouse. “We are showing up for the future of New York City.”
While it’s unclear that Lander’s arrest will make any difference in his chances to be New York City’s next mayor, one thing is now certain: He is the kind of person the city and Democrats need in the Trump era.
Lander is now a member of an exclusive group of Democratic politicians who have gotten into legal trouble for combating the Trump administration’s extreme deportation agenda. These politicians are not doing anything wrong – they are simply trying to stand up for the immigrants who make this country great.
