AOC demands independent probe of Bronx ICE shooting and condemns Target's involvement
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for a full independent investigation and release of body-camera footage after ICE shot Oscar Belgal in the Bronx, accusing Target of aiding the operation.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demanded a full, independent investigation and the prompt release of all body-camera recordings after ICE agents shot Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old suspected of Trinitarios gang ties, in his car on Marble Hill Avenue. The incident left Belgal with a neck wound but he is expected to survive; his five-year-old son, believed to be his child, was unharmed in the back seat. AOC also condemned Target Corporation for permitting its Bronx property, including a large parking lot near the shooting site, to serve as a staging area for ICE, calling the practice unacceptable.
She reiterated her stance that ICE is a rogue, lawless agency that should be abolished. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he has contacted President Trump, urging an end to ICE enforcement in New York City. The Department of Homeland Security identified Belgal as having gang connections and noted his prior criminal history. The shooting follows an investigation into possible links to a migrant moped gang that previously shot a border-patrol agent.
Why it matters
The case underscores growing conflict over ICE activities in New York and corporate cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
How this story developed
- Aug 13 San Antonio immigrants live in constant fear as ICE arrests surge
- Sep 1 ICE carried out a raid in Memphis that arrested more than 100 people, the largest raid in the city’s history.
- Sep 11 A judge dismissed the deportation case against the Andhra Pradesh woman, yet ICE continued to require her reporting.
- Sep 17 ICE agent Christian Castro turned himself in to Minnesota authorities on a warrant for assault after shooting a Venezuelan man, and faces both state and federal charges.
- Sep 18 Castro entered a not‑guilty plea to the federal false‑statement charges.
- Sep 20 A man was wounded after being shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in North Austin, Texas, and taken to a local hospital.
- Sep 27 A federal judge scheduled a personal appearance for the man on September 30 and issued a temporary order halting his deportation.
- Sep 29 The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Justice Department’s emergency request, letting the Trump administration continue deporting migrants to third countries while the policy’s legality is examined.
- Sep 30 Supreme Court issued an emergency order allowing third‑country deportations to continue.
- Sep 30 An immigration judge ruled that Salah Sarsour, head of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, can be deported on national-security grounds despite his claim that the case targets his Palestinian-rights advocacy.
- Sep 30 The Justice Department lodged complaints with the 8th Circuit alleging that Minnesota federal judges made partisan statements about a Trump-era deportation surge.
- Oct 1 A federal indictment charging Garces Perez with assault was filed.
- Oct 3 The filing requests that the judges be barred from hearing Department of Homeland Security cases.
- Oct 3 A Chicago immigration judge allowed a possible deportation of Salah Sarsour.
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