Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) panned Rep. Andy Ogles’s (R-TN) call for the Department of Justice to revoke the naturalized citizenship of New York State assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary earlier this week.

Ogles on Thursday asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in a letter to subject Mamdani to denaturalization proceedings for the purposes of eventually deporting him on the basis that he obtained U.S. citizenship “through willful misrepresentation or concealment of material support for terrorism.”

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Torres slammed the Republican lawmaker’s demand for Mamdani’s deportation as “profoundly unAmerican.”

“It is no secret that I have profound disagreements with Zohran Mamdani,” said Torres, who supports Israel and backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary. “But every Democrat — and every decent person — should speak out with moral clarity against the despicable Islamophobic attacks that have been directed at him.”

“Demanding the deportation of an American citizen simply because he is Muslim — or simply because he holds political views different from your own — is not only bigoted. It is profoundly unAmerican,” the New York Democrat added. “Bigotry in every form should be rejected unequivocally.”

In his letter to Bondi, Ogles referenced Mamdani’s past support of people convicted of terrorism-related offenses before becoming a U.S. citizen. The state assemblyman once rapped, “Free the Holy Land Five / My guys.” The lyrics referred to five individuals tied to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, an Islamic charity, who were convicted in 2008 for providing material support to Hamas terrorists.

The Tennessee Republican also cited Mamdani’s recent refusal to condemn the anti-Israel phrase “globalize the intifada,” which has been condemned by many as a call to violence. Mamdani also associated himself on the campaign trail with Hasan Piker, who came to notoriety after suggesting that the U.S. deserved the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack.

For these reasons and others, Ogles said in a social media post that Mamdani is an “antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York.” He also gave Mamdani a nickname that critics would consider Islamophobic: “little Muhammad.”

Other Republicans and conservatives have harped on Mamdani following his primary victory against Cuomo, claiming he will run New York City into the ground and demanding he be stopped.

Right-wing personality Laura Loomer, for one, suggested the Trump administration could “literally bar Zohran from running for office and criminally charge him.” In a separate post, she claimed his connection to Students for Justice in Palestine and the Palestinian Youth Movement “threatens New York’s safety and stokes anti-Jewish hate!”

Loomer pointed to former President Bill Clinton’s congratulations to Mamdani for his primary win as an example of the Democratic Party’s sympathy with “pro-Islamic terror.”

Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk tied Mamdani’s win to the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

“24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11,” Kirk posted on X. “Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City.”

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) similarly referenced 9/11 and the phrase “Never Forget,” saying “I think we sadly have forgotten” alongside a photo of Mamdani dressed in a kurta. Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) posted an AI-generated image of the Statue of Liberty hidden under a black burqa with the caption: “This hits hard.”

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Like Torres, Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) criticized Ogles’s move to get the Department of Justice to look into Mamdani’s naturalized citizenship.

“The unhinged racism and xenophobia from my Republican colleagues truly knows no bounds,” she wrote. “This is disgraceful behavior from a Member of Congress, but sadly, exactly what we’ve come to expect from this caucus.”