Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week released a video encouraging illegal immigrants to enroll in the city’s free childcare programs.
“Any New York City parent, regardless of your occupation, income, or immigration status, is eligible to sign their child up,” Ocasio-Cortez said in the video, which was entirely in Spanish. Mamdani briefly addressed viewers, saying his Spanish was rusty before deferring to the New York congresswoman.
Children turning three or four in 2026 are eligible to enroll for Pre-K or 3-K, “free, full-day, high-quality education to three-year-old children.” Parents are generally required to provide proof of the child’s age and verification of New York City residency. However, the residency requirement can be waived if a parent indicates the child is living in temporary housing.
“Students in temporary housing, as defined by McKinney-Vento, are not required to submit documentation (including address, proof of date of birth, and immunization) in order to enroll,” the form states.
My Spanish is… not very good,” Mamdani wrote on X, in a post also in Spanish. “But the fight for universal childcare? That’s very good.”
Mi español es… no muy bueno. Pero la lucha para cuidado infantil universal? Eso es muy bueno.
Asi que traje una amiga para ayudarme a compartirles porque registrarse para el kinder-3 y prekinder esta semana importa. Vamos a registrarlos.
Visite https://t.co/Ghy11RZNkq para… pic.twitter.com/8GkRRPJeDX
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 24, 2026
Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez are both at the forefront of the Democratic Party’s defense of illegal immigration. The congresswoman has publicly clashed with border czar Tom Homan over the Trump administration’s detention and deportation of illegal aliens. Mamdani’s immigration chief is a radical leftist activist who has called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Parents can apply online through the city’s “MySchools” portal, by phone with interpretation services available in more than 200 languages, or in person at Family Welcome Centers.
The free Pre-K program is indicative of Mamdani’s young administration. The avowed socialist ran for office promising to make a number of things free — notably city buses and city-run grocery stores — pledges that appealed to young New Yorkers but have made Mamdani the bete noir of conservatives across the country.
Mamdani has thus far struggled to find funding for the free programs he’s promised. Mamdani’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year projects that total city spending is going to jump to $127 billion, resulting in a large deficit. The mayor has faced backlash for proposing raising property taxes by 9.5% to pay for the budget jump.
To avoid raising property taxes, Mamdani has an open request to Governor Kathy Hochul to raise taxes by 2% on those who make over one million dollars a year, but Hochul has pledged not to raise taxes in 2026. She did, however, promise Mamdani $1.5 billion dollars over the next two years to help fund his budget, with some of the funding going towards early childhood programs.
But even a successful launch of the universal childcare program may not save Mamdani from criticism. Since taking office in January, the mayor has come under fire for failing to deliver on his agenda, and for resuming homeless encampment sweeps, which the leftist had eliminated shortly after taking office.
.png)
.png)
