DSA to Illegals: ‘You Don’t Have to Have Papers’

New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America is not hiding its immigrant-justice mission; it is advertising it.

Quick Take

NYC-DSA publicly runs an Immigrant Justice Working Group and invites people to join its organizing.
The chapter’s own materials say it holds Know Your Rights trainings and helps people respond to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Public reporting says leaders planned a rapid-response network of more than 4,000 activists, including members and non-members.
The strongest public evidence supports broad immigrant-rights mobilization, not a verified transcript of the alleged “have power” quote.

What NYC-DSA Actually Says

NYC-DSA’s public pages leave little doubt about its posture on immigration. The chapter says it “fights for immigrants’ rights,” runs Know Your Rights trainings, and frames that work as part of its formal organizing structure. Its working-groups page says the Immigrant Justice Working Group is organizing to protect immigrants targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies, while also stating that dignity should not depend on citizenship status.

That matters because the public case here is not built on a single overheated line. It is built on a standing program. The group’s materials say it hosts trainings across the city, including sessions for members of the community who want to defend themselves in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It also says those trainings are designed with immigration movement lawyers and are paired with question-and-answer sessions.

Why the Anti-ICE Work Draws Attention

The part that gets the most heat is not the existence of immigrant outreach. It is the operational shape of that outreach. Recorded training material shows NYC-DSA teaching people how to check detention status, document enforcement, and film Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity when it is safe to do so. That turns a political stance into a practical field manual, which is why critics treat it as more than simple advocacy.

Secondary reporting goes a step further and says DSA leaders planned to train about 4,000 volunteers for rapid-response work around expected Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. Those reports also say the effort included both members and non-members, which broadens the circle beyond a tight internal club. That is the strongest public support for the idea that NYC-DSA wants a wider activist network, not just a private meeting series.

What the Record Does and Does Not Prove

The record provided does not include a verified full transcript of the alleged undercover footage. That means the exact quoted line, “You don’t have to have papers to have power,” remains filtered through secondary framing rather than authenticated primary evidence. The public materials clearly show immigrant-rights organizing, but they do not separately prove that NYC-DSA singled out undocumented immigrants as a distinct political bloc.

That distinction matters. A chapter can openly welcome people across citizenship lines, train them to resist Immigration and Customs Enforcement abuse, and build mass support for immigrant communities without explicitly running a status-based political drive. The available evidence supports the first three points. It does not, by itself, prove the sharper allegation about a deliberate tactic aimed at undocumented voters or organizers.

Why the Story Spreads So Fast

This is the kind of story that travels well on phones and badly in full context. A short clip, a strong caption, and a charged phrase can do more damage than a long policy memo ever could. Immigration debates also invite instant moral sorting, so critics often hear “community defense” as “lawlessness,” while organizers hear “public safety” as “police pressure.” The same facts can be framed as civic aid or political subversion.

A little perspective on El Sayed's primary win as a follow-on to Mamdani and the other DSA candidates.

1. NYC is 6-1 Dem. to GOP registration. Mamdani's main opponent was the DISGRACED former NY Gov. who resigned due to a sex scandal, after killing tens of thousands of…

— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) August 6, 2026

NYC-DSA’s own materials make the organization easy to understand and easy to attack. It has a named Immigrant Justice Working Group, repeated trainings, and a public invitation to organize with the group. That is not hidden. What remains unverified is the leap from immigrant-rights organizing to the more explosive claim that the chapter was explicitly telling undocumented people they could turn lack of papers into political power. The public record supports the organizing. It does not fully lock down the quotation.