Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents engaged in another shooting involving an illegal migrant in New York City on Thursday, and it didn’t take long for the city’s left-wing socialist mayor to make things worse.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani demanded that President Donald Trump immediately halt federal immigration enforcement operations in the city after an ICE agent shot and wounded an illegal immigrant with an extensive criminal history during an attempted arrest Thursday afternoon.
The shooting triggered angry protests in the Bronx, where demonstrators confronted federal agents and police officers as tensions escalated over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Mamdani condemned the operation, called for the abolition of ICE altogether, and personally contacted Trump in an unsuccessful attempt to secure the wounded man’s release from federal custody.
“All they do is terrorize this city,” Mamdani claimed of ICE agents during a late-night news conference without addressing the fact that the migrant involved was illegally in the U.S.
The mayor also accused the agency of operating with impunity and spreading fear throughout immigrant communities. “ICE is rotten to its core,” he said, stirring the pot.
The incident occurred around 4 p.m. Thursday in the Marble Hill neighborhood, near the Bronx, as federal immigration agents attempted to arrest a 28-year-old Dominican national identified as Oscar Belgal.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Belgal was in the United States illegally and had previously been convicted of grand larceny. DHS said he also had prior arrests involving assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons offenses.
Federal officials further alleged that Belgal had associations with the Trinitarios, a Dominican street gang.
I am angry tonight.
Because today ICE shot a New Yorker. They shot a New Yorker while his five year old child was in the car.
ICE makes this city less safe.
We want them out. Now. https://t.co/ZizKB0OP7S
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) October 9, 2026
DHS described the operation as a targeted attempt to apprehend a wanted individual with a criminal record.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said investigators determined that at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds during the confrontation.
One bullet struck Belgal in the neck, just below his left ear. A 5-year-old boy believed to be Belgal’s son was inside the vehicle when the shooting occurred. The child was not injured and was subsequently placed in the care of a family member.
Belgal survived the shooting and received medical treatment at a nearby hospital. Authorities have not publicly established why the agent opened fire or whether Belgal posed an immediate threat.
The circumstances remain under investigation.
Federal officials defended the operation and criticized New York City’s policies shielding illegal aliens from authorities, arguing that restrictions on cooperation with immigration agents make enforcement more dangerous.
DHS said Belgal had been arrested by New York City police in December 2023 but was released several days later.
The department contended that local immigration restrictions forced federal agents to locate and arrest him in the community rather than take custody through a local detention facility — an inherently more dangerous situation.
“When dangerous illegal aliens are released back onto the streets by radical sanctuary politicians, our officers are forced to make arrests at large in the community in unpredictable and dangerous environments,” a DHS spokesperson said.
However, the department has not demonstrated that sanctuary policies caused the shooting itself.
Police records also indicate Belgal pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny following a 2023 robbery and received five years of probation.
He was arrested again in 2025 on a drug-related charge, with that case reportedly still pending.
Following the shooting, Mamdani announced that he had contacted the president and demanded an end to immigration enforcement operations in New York City.
“I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities,” the mayor said in an official statement.
He also called for federal agents to leave the city’s neighborhoods, hospitals and streets.
Mamdani later said he spent approximately two hours communicating with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
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