Trump team mocks Mamdani-led coalition suing to block rule change on welfare for immigrants

Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says a plan by the Trump administration to restrict welfare for immigrants is "cruel and unlawful."President Donald Trump is seeking to change the public charge rule to allow the administration to deny visa and green card applications to immigrants receiving welfare benefits.'We’re shaking in our boots over this supposedly terrible outcome.'Mamdani and New York Attorney General Letitia James are suing to block the plan."The new public charge rule seeks to push immigrant families away from the programs that have kept people fed and healthy for decades," read a statement from the mayor Monday."New Yorkers will be afraid to see a doctor or ask for help they are legally entitled to," he added. "That fear will not stop at the families that the federal government is targeting. Families who remain fully eligible for benefits will feel a chilling effect, and all New Yorkers will pay for it."Seattle, Chicago, and San Francisco are among the cities that are joining the lawsuit.Mamdani went on to accuse the administration of intentionally dividing New Yorkers with the new policy, which would loosen the definition of a "public charge" in order to restrict far more immigrants from getting welfare. "The new public charge rule not only sweeps aside more than a century of established law, it is intentionally vague as a means of creating uncertainty and fear to isolate immigrant New Yorkers," he said at a press conference."Make no mistake, this is an undisguised effort to strip New Yorkers of the services they rely on, the public benefits they are entitled to," he added.Mamdani's lawsuit included a coalition of cities and counties while James' lawsuit included about 20 states. Both were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.RELATED: Illegal alien child abuser caught in US after being deported, Border Patrol tells Blaze News A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which is named as a defendant in both lawsuits, ridiculed the arguments made by the plaintiffs."Let’s get this straight, sanctuary states are terrified they will lose federal funds because hundreds of thousands of illegals and noncitizens might remove themselves from American welfare programs," said the spokesperson to Courthouse News."We’re shaking in our boots over this supposedly terrible outcome," the spokesperson added.Unless the legal challenge is successful, the new rule change will go into effect on Friday.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!