Overview
- City Hall confirmed on Feb. 17 that Faiza Ali will serve as commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the city’s chief immigration post.
- Ali, a longtime Mamdani ally, previously rose through the City Council to become first deputy chief of staff to former Speaker Adrienne Adams after earlier community engagement roles.
- She replaces Manuel Castro, who led MOIA under Eric Adams and drew criticism from some lawmakers and advocates for limited public pushback on federal immigration policy.
- The appointment follows Mamdani’s recent executive order reinforcing sanctuary protections by restricting cooperation with ICE without judicial warrants, bolstering privacy safeguards, and launching multilingual “Know Your Rights” outreach.
- City Hall has ordered agency reviews of interactions with federal immigration authorities and created an interagency response committee; Politico reported Bitta Mostofi is in line to lead audits, a detail not officially confirmed.