Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the appointment of Faiza Ali as commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) and Ana María Archila as commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, placing two well-known immigrant rights advocates in key positions in his administration.
Faiza Ali, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants and raised in Brooklyn, takes over as director of MOIA at a time of growing federal pressure on sanctuary city policies. With more than a decade of experience on the City Council, she began as a community liaison in 2014 and rose to serve as director of the Community Engagement Division and first deputy chief of staff to then-Council President Adrienne Adams. He also served on Mamdani’s transition committee and has worked at organizations such as the Arab American Association of New York and CAIR-NY. Additionally, he co-founded the Muslim Democratic Club of New York with the current mayor.
Upon assuming the position, he stated that his priority will be to ensure that immigrants can live and work with dignity, expanding access to municipal programs and strengthening the protection of vulnerable communities in the five boroughs.
Ali replaces Manuel Castro, who led the office during former Mayor Eric Adams’s single term and was the first formerly undocumented person to hold the position. His tenure was marked by tensions between the city and President Donald Trump’s administration over immigration policies and sanctuary laws.
For her part, Ana María Archila will assume the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, where she will act as the main liaison between the city of New York, the United Nations, the State Department and the diplomatic community. Born in Colombia, Archila has more than 20 years of experience in organizing and defending the rights of immigrants. She has held leadership positions at Make the Road New York and the Center for Popular Democracy, and was co-chair of the New York Working Families Party. In 2022 she ran for lieutenant governor of the state.
Mamdani highlighted that both officials bring experience, moral clarity and a deep commitment to the communities that support the city. With these appointments, the mayor reinforces his focus on the protection of immigrants and the international positioning of New York in a political context marked by uncertainty and the immigration debate at the national level.
“At a time when immigrant New Yorkers face increasing attacks and uncertainty, this administration will not hesitate. We will defend our neighbors. We will expand access to services. And we will ensure that New York City remains a place where immigrants are not only welcomed in words, but protected in policies, supported in practice, and able to live and work with the dignity they deserve,” the mayor said.
