In a blatantly xenophobic post on Thursday, Republican Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) called for Zohran Mamdani, a New York state assemblymember who’s set to be the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, to be deported and denaturalized over an old song lyric.
Mamdani, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Uganda, should be “subject to denaturalization proceedings,” Ogles argued, citing a line in a rap song that the Democratic socialist released in 2017.
Ogles’ shocking statements are among a number of Islamophobic attacks that Republicans have made against the 33-year-old progressive, who will become New York City’s first Muslim mayor if he’s elected in November.
As HuffPost’s Ben Blanchet reported, right-wing commentators like conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer have claimed there would be “another 9/11 in NYC” under Mamdani, while Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has called him a “jihadist.” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) also quickly put up a poll on X asking her followers if Mamdani should be “denaturalized and deported” following Ogles’s post.
Mamdani has fielded death threats during his campaign, prompting a police investigation.
“I get messages that say things like the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim,” Mamdani has said. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Ogles’ post.
Mamdani ― who began rapping in high school and went on to use the name “Young Cardamom” — has previously spoken about how building an audience for his music helped hone his organizing skills.
Ogles, in his Thursday statement on X, asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Mamdani’s 2017 song, “Salaam,” alleging that one of his lyrics amounted to an endorsement of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a group whose leaders were convicted of helping fund the militant group Hamas. The heads of the Holy Land Foundation had argued that the organization was providing legitimate humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
Ogles claims that Mamdani’s lyric — “Free the Holy Land Five / My Guys” — should prompt an inquiry into “affiliations or sympathies” of his that were not disclosed during his naturalization process.
Ogles acknowledged that his request could be perceived as a violation of free speech protections, writing that “some may raise First Amendment concerns about taking legal action based on expressive conduct.”
The Justice Department confirmed receipt of Ogles’ letter but declined to comment further.
Ogles has long been known for making racist and incendiary statements, including questioning whether diversity, equity and inclusion policies were to blame for a tragic plane crash in Washington, D.C., in January.
The Republican’s remarks also align with the Trump administration’s renewed interest in expanding the process of “denaturalization,” an extremely rare process that in recent decades has typically only been used to revoke the citizenship of Americans with connections to terrorist groups or crimes.
During Trump’s first term, he funneled resources to this effort and attempted to broaden the categories of naturalized immigrants who can be subject to such proceedings.