Mamdani Erupts on ICE for Shooting Illegal Gangbanger

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani demanded that ICE leave the city after agents shot Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican illegal alien with a grand larceny conviction and prior arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession, and weapons possession.

Belgal had ties to the Trinitarios gang, whose members were involved in the shooting of a Customs and Border Protection officer last year. DHS agents were conducting a targeted enforcement operation to arrest him when he allegedly tried to ram his vehicle into federal officers.

The shooting occurred shortly after 4 p.m. as children were leaving school. Masked agents wearing construction vests surrounded Belgal’s gray Honda CR-V. At least one agent opened fire, striking him in the neck below his left ear. At least seven shell casings were recovered. Belgal had a young child inside his SUV.

Mamdani called the agency “rotten to its core” and said, “This city wants ICE out. All they do is terrorize this city.” He described the shooting as “unconscionable and incredibly serious,” stating, “There is no justification for what we’ve seen today.”

He added, “Our request [is] that ICE agents leave the scene entirely — as well as the demand that ICE stop its enforcement actions in New York City.” Mamdani argued, “We know, and I have said this directly, whether to the president or to the public, ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe.”

He said his thoughts were with the injured New Yorker and his family, adding, “We are praying for his recovery.” Mamdani took his demands to President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acknowledged that his push to halt enforcement and secure Belgal’s release had failed.

Gov. Kathy Hochul also contacted Trump and Mullin, expressing outrage and urging them to halt ICE operations in New York. She asked that any body camera footage be released to the public.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Marble Hill. Confrontations broke out, with more than a dozen people grabbing a masked ICE agent and pinning him against a wall. Protesters shouted, “Take the mask off!” before NYPD officers intervened. Other protesters blocked Homeland Security agents, and officers struggled with people who grabbed a barrier. The NYPD said five people were taken into custody during the protests.

Mamdani noted that Belgal had been “whisked away” from the hospital shortly before the mayor’s news conference and said, “Let me say this plainly, what happened today was an outrage.”