ICE officers shot a man in New York because they believed they were in danger, official says

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Belgal had a 5-year-old boy in the car with him when the shooting happened, officials said.

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Mullin said ICE agents didn’t know the child was in the car, but that Belgal “was aware” and chose to knowingly put the boy at risk by trying to evade officers.

It’s not the first time ICE tried to detain Belgal, Charles says

Charles said Belgal was associated with a robbery crew that used mopeds and weapons, and was convicted on larceny charges and sentenced to five years of probation last year.

Belgal evaded officers in September when ICE tried to arrest him for deportation, Charles said.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, said late Thursday that they had pressed Mullin and Republican President Donald Trump to release Belgal, to no avail. They also urged the administration to immediately release body camera footage of the shooting and to halt immigration enforcement operations in the city.

Mullin said Belgal was being held in a facility outside New York City but declined to say where.

He confirmed ICE officers were wearing body cameras that were activated, but didn’t say when any footage would be released.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Belgal was pulling into a parking space when a federal officer in plainclothes approached with gun drawn, followed by another federal officer who also wasn’t in uniform. Belgal started to pull the car forward, and at least one of the officers fired seven rounds, hitting the man below his left ear.

Protesters and local officials had decried the shooting as an example of the dangers of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

“There is no justification for what we have seen today,” Mamdani said late Thursday at the scene of the shooting.

Federal officers who surrounded the vehicle wore construction vests and masks, making it difficult to identify them as immigration officers, he said.

Mullins slams NYC’s immigration policies

Much of Mullin’s remarks Friday were reserved for excoriating Mamdani and his immigration policy. The Democrat, who took office in January, has restricted local cooperation with immigration enforcement operations and repeatedly called for the abolition of ICE.

“Sanctuary politicians, they create an environment for criminal activity to thrive, not for the American citizens to be safe,” Mullins said.

ICE has asked local officials in New York to hold onto more than 14,000 people for federal officers to collect and place in immigration detention, he said.

“Silence. Absolute silence is what we have gotten back,” the secretary said. “Why would they release these individuals back onto the streets?”

“We’re enforcing our nation’s laws. We’re not picking and choosing,” Mullin continued. “Why is that controversial? We should all want law and order on our streets.”

Mullin also criticized the attention surrounding the case.

“This was a thug. The absolute worst of the worst,” he complained. “We’re giving so much attention to this thug.”

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Marcelo reported from New York.

Rebecca Santana And Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press