New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) recorded a video in Spanish to encourage New York City residents to register for taxpayer-funded child care, regardless of their immigration status.
The two self-identified socialists walked through the steps parents can take before the impending deadline to enroll their children in the program. Mamdani stumbled through his Spanish lines before ceding the floor to Ocasio-Cortez.
“My Spanish is… no bueno. But the fight for universal childcare? Muy bueno,” Mamdani wrote on X.
The pair explained that child care is becoming an increasingly expensive burden in the city, costing the average New Yorker at least $26,000 per child per year.
“If your child is turning three or four years old in 2026, you can enroll them in free 3-K or Pre-K in New York City,” AOC said, in Spanish. “But you must apply by February 27, which is the deadline. Any New York City parent, regardless of your occupation, income, or immigration status, is eligible to sign their child up.”
“You can call this number … and receive translation in more than 200 languages. Because no family should be shut out from our programs just because of the language they speak.” Ocasio-Cortez said.
A November 2025 report from the Center for Migration Studies estimates that nearly 600,000 illegal immigrants reside in New York City. One out of every eleven children in NYC who is a legal U.S. citizen has at least one illegal parent.
Illegal immigrants have historically flocked to New York City, given its sanctuary city status, which bans local law enforcement from coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and the plethora of welfare programs available to illegal immigrants.
During former President Joe Biden’s tenure, there were more than 8 million illegal immigrant encounters, an estimated 1.7 million of which did not result in deportation, according to a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability report.
Many social welfare programs in the city are available for illegal immigrants, including low-cost or free health care through the city’s NYC Care program, reduced or free school meals, and reduced-fare MetroCards for the elderly and disabled.
During the Biden administration, major NYC hotels shut down and were transformed into shelters for illegal immigrants. The program cost the city close to $8 billion to provide shelter to almost 250,000 illegal immigrants over three years.
Many Republican states — most prominently Texas — bused their illegal immigrant populations to northern sanctuary cities, like New York. According to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office, the state transported close to 100,000 illegal immigrants from its state, 40,000 of whom went to New York City.
Currently, under Mamdani’s proposed budget, New York City is facing a $5.4 billion two-year gap. Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul stands firm on not raising income taxes, potentially leaving the mayor no choice but to raise property taxes in the city.
“Faced with no other choice, the city would have to exercise the only revenue lever fully within our own control,” Mamdani said earlier this month. “We would have to raise property taxes. We would also be forced to raid our reserves.”
The increased property taxes would affect more than 3 million homeowners, as well as at least 100,000 commercial buildings in the city.
“He ran on telling us he’s going to make everything affordable,” Valentina Gojcaj, a board member of Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY), told AMNY. “How is he going to make everything affordable, when he’d raise property taxes almost 10%?”
Reprinted with permission from National Review by Kamden Mulder.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
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