After Marble Hill ICE shooting, DHS head takes aim at Mamdani and New York’s sanctuary policies

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday called for ICE to end its enforcement efforts in New York City after a federal ICE agent shot a man in a car with his five-year-old son in Manhattan. Department of Homeland Security head Markwayne Mullin, in a press conference Friday, attacked New York’s sanctuary city policies, as the New York Times reports: “When you have sanctuary cities and sanctuary politicians, you endanger the safety of the public.”

“This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation. I have called the President; when we speak I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city,” Mamdani said in an official statement. “I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities.”

He added: “Get ICE out of our neighborhoods. Get ICE out of our hospitals. Get ICE off our streets. Get ICE away from our children. Abolish ICE.”

Although the DHS enforcement agency has ramped up its actions in cities around the country this year, and threatened an even greater presence, the agency’s aggressive tactics have been uniquely unwelcome in a city that has been among the country’s least tolerant of threats against its immigrant population.

According to reports and witnesses, the shooting occurred at around 4 p.m. in a busy residential area. Confused residents report being terrified by the sound of gunshots and the presence of officials wearing construction vests and carrying assault rifles. The NYPD has said its officers were not present at the time of the shooting.

The mayor, who said he spoke with Mullin and President Trump for two hours following the incident, was unable to secure release from custody for the injured detainee, identified as Oscar Belgal, 28, who was treated at a nearby hospital, then transported to an unidentified detention center outside New York State.

According to Courthouse News Service, Belgal’s legal team have filed a habeas corpus petition with a court hearing scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Friday, emphasizing that the detainee’s unknown location has raised “serious concerns for his health and well-being,” and impedes access to his medical records and other key information.

U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken, in the Southern District of New York, has granted an emergency motion to prevent his removal from the U.S. and barred ICE from moving him to a facility outside New York or New Jersey while the habeas petition is reviewed.

On Thursday evening, Gov. Kathy Hochul demanded answers from federal officials: “New Yorkers have witnessed far too many acts of violence by a rogue federal agency and untrained agents that operate with impunity. Federal authorities need to provide answers, and they must do so immediately.”

The DHS has been highlighting the alleged criminal record of Belgal, whom they claim is in the United States illegally and has a prior grand larceny conviction and arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession, and weapons offenses. The agency blames New York City’s sanctuary laws for allowing him to remain here.

At the mayor’s press conference Thursday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Belgal has two prior arrests in New York City, one for robbery and another for the criminal sale of a controlled substance.

“Based on evidence collected at the scene, we know that at least one ICE agent discharged seven rounds, striking the driver in the neck below his left ear. Members of the NYPD’s 50th Precinct Conditions Team were responding to an unrelated call nearby when they heard the report of shots fired, and they responded to that scene,”Tisch said.

“When they arrived, they encountered several men in various forms of attire, including some in construction-style vests, face masks and at least one carrying a long gun.”

There has been no evidence that Belgal posed any immediate threat to the public. At the news conference, Mullin called Belgal “the worst of the worst” and took aim at sanctuary city policies that forbid local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. He called out New York’s in particular, claiming the policies make it more difficult for the federal government to detain criminals and make the city “less safe.”

Immigrant rights advocates say these policies are, in fact, vitally important to public safety rather than a threat to it. Sanctuary policies were created in part to encourage the city’s immigrant community to report crimes without fear of detention.

In addition to calls to take responsibility for federal agents’ dangerous actions, officials have been calling on local businesses, like Target, to stop letting ICE use their parking lots.

Within hours of the incident, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a statement demanding, as others have, an independent investigation and release of body camera footage, adding, “In addition, the Target Corporation must stop offering their Bronx properties as private staging sites for ICE, in compliance with requests from New York officials. Target opening up large, active retail parking lots for paramilitary activity is unacceptable and places the entire community at risk.”

Community information and resources

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or confused by the latest developments in immigration and sanctuary city laws in New York City and beyond, here are several resources to stay informed and involved:

• New York City immigration policy updates is a dedicated page from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs that shares basic information and resources on the latest federal immigration policy updates.
• The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs / Know your rights and legal resources
  Learn about immigrant rights with ICE, if you or a family member is detained, and sanctuary city laws in NYC. Find out how to volunteer by distributing information about MOIA services, providing interpretation, or serving as an English language facilitator.
• The Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) is a non-profit organization focused on combatting the targeting of immigrants for mass imprisonment and deportation and ending the current era of unprecedented mass criminalization, detention, and deportation through advocacy, litigation, legal advice and training, community defense, grassroots alliances, and strategic communications.
• New York Immigration Coalition community resources: Be prepared and aware
  This statewide member-led coalition of immigrant and refugee organizations works to organize and educate the community and advocate for opportunity and justice with workshops and presentations on immigration law, guidance to community groups, advocates, and legal providers, low-cost legal and health services, and more.
• Hands Off NYC offers resources to help you speak out, care for one another, organize locally, and navigate specific situations, such as how to protest safely, how to protect shops and workers in your neighborhood, and what to do when you have to interact with federal agents.

RELATED:

• NYC sues Trump over new rule that may deny green cards to immigrants using public assistance
• New York provides $7.25M for legal services for immigrant children facing removal proceedings
• Mayor’s audit shows aggressive ICE tactics are on the rise in NYC, with arrests up 71 percent
• What makes New York a sanctuary city—and is its status under threat?