New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Thursday that he intends to request the removal of federal immigration agents from the city. The decision comes as tensions escalate over a recent shooting incident involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to the New York Police Department, a man was shot at approximately 4pm in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx during an altercation with federal agents.
Mamdani and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subsequently confirmed that the shooting took place during an ICE operation, the agency tasked with implementing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Mamdani stated that a five-year-old child was inside the vehicle when the confrontation occurred.
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that officers were attempting to “arrest a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny, and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs, and weapons possession”.
The statement did not disclose how many officers fired their weapons or the specific reason why.
“ICE officers immediately rendered aid. The individual is alive and at a local hospital,” the DHS spokesperson said.
The department initially suggested the targeted individual had connections to a Dominican gang, but that claim was later removed in a revised statement. City police identified the 28-year-old man as Oscar Belgal.
“This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation,” Democratic mayor Mamdani said on X, adding that he had already contacted the president.
“When we speak I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorise our communities,” he added.
Several hundred protesters gathered peacefully at the scene of the shooting on Thursday evening to express opposition to Trump’s crackdown, AFP observed.
Many demonstrators then moved toward the nearby hospital where the victim was receiving treatment.
Tensions with police escalated when some protesters attempted to prevent cars from leaving the hospital, before being moved away from the entrance by law enforcement, who set up barriers.
“This incident is another reminder of the unchecked, rampant violence ICE has been spreading throughout our communities,” said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition.
“We demand an immediate investigation into the shooting, the release of the body camera footage, and accountability for any ICE agents who used excessive force.”
ICE has been involved in several high-profile shootings this year, including the killing of two US citizens in Minneapolis, which sparked angry protests.
New York, a Democratic stronghold, is one of several US cities that bars its police force from assisting with federal immigration enforcement.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)