NY residents reject labeling ICE-shot migrant as a fellow New Yorker
A Dominican migrant shot by ICE agents in the Bronx sparked outrage, with locals refusing to call him a New Yorker and condemning the incident.
ICE agents shot Oscar Belgal, a Dominican national who entered the United States illegally in 2022, after he tried to use his car as a weapon against them in the Bronx. The Department of Homeland Security said agents fired because they feared for their lives, noting that a five-year-old child was later discovered in the vehicle. Local reaction was hostile; residents refused to accept Mamdani’s description of Belgal as a “New Yorker,” with some calling him “trash” and linking the case to broader concerns about sanctuary laws.
The shooting follows allegations that Belgal has been involved in multiple crimes, including a 2023 armed robbery and a 2025 drug conviction. A federal judge has temporarily blocked his deportation, and he was booked into MDC-Brooklyn after being transferred from ICE custody in Newark.
Why it matters
The incident highlights tensions over immigration enforcement, sanctuary policies, and public safety in New York.
How this story developed
- Aug 13 San Antonio immigrants live in constant fear as ICE arrests surge
- 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.
- Oct 8 A person was shot by federal agents in Marble Hill, Bronx, and is now receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.
- Oct 9 ICE announced it will continue enforcement actions in New York City despite the shooting.
- Oct 10 Protests spread to Manhattan and lower Manhattan, drawing thousands of demonstrators.
- Oct 10 An off‑duty ICE agent was shot after allegedly assaulting a homeowner and his father in Fresno.
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