Florida Republican Congressman Randy Fine has ignited controversy after calling for a federal review of the U.S. citizenship status of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Fine accused Mamdani and other Muslim public figures of benefiting from what he described as “massive naturalization fraud,” claiming their citizenship should be reexamined and, if necessary, revoked.
In a recent post on X, Fine urged the Department of Justice to “review every naturalization of the past 30 years, starting with Mamdani, Omar, and Hasan,” referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar and journalist Mehdi Hasan. “Where fraud is found,” he wrote, “denaturalize and deport.”
The comments followed an online exchange between Mehdi Hasan and conservative commentator Matt Walsh, who claimed that “Christianity built this country.” Hasan responded by pointing out that many enslaved Africans who built early America were Muslims—prompting Fine’s denunciation.
Fine’s remarks are the latest in a pattern of inflammatory statements targeting Mamdani, a Democratic socialist born in Uganda in 1991 and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2018. Earlier this month, Fine referred to him as “little more than a Muslim terrorist” and said he should be “deported to the Ugandan s**thole he came from.”
Muslim advocacy groups in New York condemned Fine’s rhetoric as “racist, Islamophobic, and anti-Black,” accusing him of using fear and prejudice for political gain. “This language mirrors the colonial and xenophobic slurs once used to dehumanize African and immigrant communities,” their joint statement said.
Republican lawmakers have repeatedly questioned Mamdani’s citizenship since he entered the New York City mayoral race. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee and City Council Member Vickie Paladino have both echoed calls for his deportation, citing his socialist views and old rap lyrics as supposed evidence of disloyalty to the United States. Former President Donald Trump also weighed in over the summer, saying “a lot of people are saying he’s here illegally” and suggesting his administration “would look at everything.”
Mamdani has rejected the attacks, calling them an effort to silence immigrants and Muslims in American politics. “Like nearly 40 percent of all New Yorkers, I wasn’t born in this country,” he wrote on X. “This is my home, and I’m proud to be a citizen—which means standing up for our Constitution.”
Legal experts note that denaturalization in the United States is exceedingly rare and can only occur when clear evidence shows an applicant lied or hid significant facts during the naturalization process. No such evidence has been presented in Mamdani’s case, and the Department of Justice has not announced any investigation.
As the 2025 New York City mayoral race heats up, the controversy has become a flashpoint in a broader national debate over immigration, race, and who gets to belong in American political life.
