Both Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to respond to the very real possibility that a foreign-born Muslim and avowed socialist could soon become the mayor of the largest city in America. Republicans in the House of Representatives are considering denaturalizing and possibly even deporting Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani, according to the New York Post. Reps. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) and Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) are pressing the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to examine Mamdani’s naturalization process to identify any errors or disqualifying factors in order to strip the Ugandan native of his American citizenship.

“I just think we need to take a hard look at how these folks became citizens, and if there is any fraud or any violation of the rules we need to denaturalize and deport,” Fine said. “I know that there [are] a lot of us [who] are very, very concerned about the enemy within — people who have come to this country to become citizens, to destroy it,” he added. “If they’re not Americans, they can’t be in office.”

As Brandy Perez, researcher at the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center, told The Washington Stand, “United States citizenship is a privilege, not a right. Naturalization may be revoked if citizenship was granted through false pretenses such as an applicant having ‘illegally procured’ citizenship or by ‘concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation,’ according to INA § 340(a). Attorney General Bondi issued a memo in June directing the Department of Justice to ‘maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings’ in applicable cases supported by evidence," she said. "The new guidance establishes that cases against people evaluated to be a national security threat will be prioritized for denaturalization. Zohran Mamdani has publicly supported New York’s sanctuary laws, which are dangerous policies that obstruct justice. He has also promised taxpayer-funded legal counsel for illegal aliens in immigration proceedings if he is elected mayor of New York City, a practice illegal under 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(4)(A). Mamdani campaign remarks show he does not intend to allow immigration law to be enforced in New York City, creating a national security risk in America's most populated city.”

Ogles has suggested that Mamdani’s membership in the Democratic Socialists of America should have disqualified him from becoming a naturalized citizen in 2018 and further accused Mamdani of lying on his naturalization paperwork. The congressman has repeatedly called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to investigate Mamdani for potential crimes or wrongdoing and deport him, referring to him as an “invader.”

Democrats, meanwhile, have openly endorsed Mamdani, including at the highest levels of the party. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) became the latest to endorse Mamdani on Friday. “Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a Mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries said, in the midst of the ongoing government shutdown. However, the congressional Democrat also warned that he expects that “there will be areas of agreement and areas of principled disagreement” between Mamdani and other Democrats.

Other Democrats who have endorsed Mamdani include Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and independent Senator Bernie Sanders (Vt.), another self-described socialist. New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D), New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D), and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) have also endorsed Mamdani.

But the Ugandan-born mayoral candidate’s surging popularity has been aided by Democrats’ open-borders policies and left-wing super-donors. A recent survey from Patriot Polling found that among American-born New Yorkers, independent candidate and former Governor Andrew Cuomo would win the election with 40% of the vote, while Mamdani would earn 31% and Republican Curtis Sliwa would win 25%. Among foreign-born New York voters, however, Mamdani would win the election with over 60% of the vote, while Cuomo would earn 24% and Sliwa only 12%.

A recent report from Fox News found that Mamdani’s campaign has been bolstered by support from Islamic extremist organizations, socialist networks, and even Hungarian billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundations. “Mamdani’s rise was no accident. It was engineered,” wrote Fox News’s Asra Q. Nomani. Overall, 110 groups are backing Mamdani’s campaign, “working hand-in-glove with 76 Democratic Party affiliates, allied groups and unions,” accounting for tens of millions of dollars. “The result: a carefully constructed political career that mainstreams the socialist goals long embraced by [activist Linda] Sarsour and fellow members of the Democratic Socialists of America.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of New Yorkers are planning to flee the city if Mamdani wins the election. According to The Daily Wire, over 300 New Yorkers have contacted the group StopAntisemitism about relocating. “New Yorkers — looking to relocate if Mamdani wins the NYC mayoral race? We’d love to connect you to realtors in FL, TX, CT, etc. You deserve to live in a city not run by an antisemite,” the group said in a social media post, referring to Mamdani’s support for anti-Israel organizations. “If Mamdani is elected, we will make it our mission to remove as much of his tax base as possible. Antisemites understand one thing — consequences.”

“I think the vast, vast majority of Jews in New York City are extremely frightened of what will happen if this man takes the mayoral seat. He will put Jewish safety on the back burner,” said StopAntisemitism founder Liora Rez. Pointing to surging Muslim violence in the U.K. and other places in Europe, she warned that “this is a precursor to what we will see in New York City in the next two to three years, if not sooner.”