Breaking
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani escalated his fight with the Trump administration on Sunday, declaring that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should end all operations in the nation’s largest city. Speaking on MS NOW’s Connect, Mamdani pointed to last week’s ICE shooting in the Bronx, calling ICE “a federal agency that shot at a moving vehicle in broad daylight.” He concluded that the agency “should not be in this city at all.”
The remarks go further than the mayor’s earlier demand that federal agents pause enforcement after the shooting. Mamdani also accused ICE agents of ignoring rules that local police are required to follow, such as wearing clearly identifiable uniforms, and said the agency “terrorizes” residents rather than making them safer. The comments set up a direct clash with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who has refused to scale back enforcement and has publicly blamed the city’s sanctuary policies for the confrontation.
Details & Background
The standoff began Thursday, October 8, when an ICE officer shot Oscar Belgal during a targeted enforcement operation in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx. DHS says Belgal is a Dominican national living in the country illegally with a prior grand larceny conviction, multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons possession, and ties to the Trinitarios gang. ICE says the NYPD arrested him on December 7, 2023, and released him days later. DHS has said he was “released into the community by reckless Democrat sanctuary policies that put American lives at risk.”
The details of the shooting are disputed. DHS says Belgal “rammed” agents’ vehicles as they tried to box in his car. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said he was pulling into a parking space when a plainclothes federal officer approached with a drawn gun, and that at least one officer fired seven rounds after he began pulling forward. A 5-year-old child was in the back seat and was not hurt; Belgal was shot below his left ear and is expected to recover. Federal judges have since blocked his transfer outside the New York area, and the FBI and HSI are investigating.
Reactions
Mamdani has been in open conflict with the administration since the shooting. He said he spent two hours on the phone with President Donald Trump and Mullin trying to secure Belgal’s release, an effort that failed. He later declared that “ICE is rotten to its core” and wrote on X, “ICE makes this city less safe. We want them out. Now.” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she “expressed outrage on behalf of New Yorkers and urged them to halt ICE enforcement operations in New York,” while insisting the state is “not a sanctuary for criminals.”
Mullin has refused to back down, sharply criticizing Hochul and Mamdani for calling for a pause in enforcement. He said ICE did not know the child was in the back seat and that Belgal was aware of the boy and chose to put him at risk by trying to flee. Mullin has said Belgal is being held in a facility outside New York City but declined to say where. The White House has not indicated any willingness to reduce ICE’s footprint in the city, and federal officials have pointed to Belgal’s record as proof that the operation targeted a dangerous individual.
Why This Matters to You
Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and no mayor has the legal authority to order a federal agency out of his city. Sanctuary policies can limit how much local police cooperate with ICE, but they cannot stop federal officers from enforcing federal law. When a city refuses to hand over individuals with criminal records, ICE is forced to make arrests on the street, in neighborhoods and parking lots, which is exactly how last week’s confrontation unfolded.
The fight in New York is a test case for the entire country. If the nation’s largest city can pressure Washington into retreating, other sanctuary jurisdictions will follow its lead, and criminal illegal immigrants released by local authorities will face fewer consequences. If federal officials hold firm, the standoff between City Hall and the White House is likely to intensify in the weeks ahead. Either way, the outcome will shape public safety in American cities for years to come.
