New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of operating as a «rogue federal agency» that treats the law as «merely a suggestion,» escalating a public feud with the Department of Homeland Security just days after a federal immigration officer fired seven shots at a man in Manhattan.
In his first interview since the Thursday shooting, Mamdani told MS NOW host Jacob Soboroff that ICE agents repeatedly disregard legal limits and questioned whether New Yorkers could distinguish federal officers from dangerous attackers. «We follow the law in New York City and I know that to the secretary, the law is merely a suggestion when it comes to the actions of these ICE agents,» Mamdani said. «They are making a mockery of what law and order is.»
The shooting occurred Thursday afternoon in the Marble Hill neighborhood, where ICE agents attempted to apprehend Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national. DHS said Belgal had a prior grand larceny conviction and previous arrests involving assault, robbery, drugs and weapons. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at least one federal immigration officer fired seven rounds, striking Belgal in the neck below his left ear. His 5-year-old son, who was sitting inside the vehicle, was unharmed.
Mamdani said he spoke with President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin for nearly two hours Thursday evening in an unsuccessful effort to secure Belgal's release. He expressed frustration with the secretary's assessment of the shooting. «What struck me is the secretary did not think that ICE agents had done anything wrong,» Mamdani said. «I am demanding that ICE cease their operations in our city immediately, because these operations make New Yorkers less safe. They leave New Yorkers in a state of terror.»
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back against Mamdani's accusations, defending ICE and criticizing the mayor's rhetoric toward federal immigration officers. «ICE enforces the law as written. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S. — full stop,» a DHS spokesperson said. «Mayor Mamdani should be thanking our law enforcement for removing these dangerous criminals from his city — NOT vilifying law enforcement.»
The statement continued: «Attacks and demonization of ICE law enforcement is wrong. Because of smears like this our ICE officers are now facing a 1,600% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists.»
Mamdani argued that ICE's operations were making New Yorkers less safe and called for the agency's elimination. «What we see from their actions is an agency that terrorizes, one that creates a sense of fear as opposed to any idea of safety,» he said. «And I made it very clear that the longer that ICE agents were engaging in their operations in the city, the less safe this city was becoming.»
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken temporarily blocked Belgal's deportation while his challenge to federal detention remains pending. The judge also restricted his transfer outside specified federal judicial districts without prior court approval. The NYPD, which was not involved in the shooting, released body camera footage showing officers responding to the scene after the shooting. The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the incident.
Mullin criticized Mamdani's anti-ICE rhetoric during a Friday news conference, accusing the mayor of inciting hostility toward federal immigration officers while refusing to support their enforcement efforts. «His words are dangerous and incite hostility. It doesn't help,» Mullin said. «He said that ICE is rotten to the core. Really? Men and women at ICE each day are enforcing the laws that he refuses to enforce. He said he wants to abolish ICE. Well, Mayor, if you abolish ICE, who's going to take the criminals off the streets of your own town?»
DHS told Fox News Digital that nearly 7,000 criminal illegal immigrants had been released from New York jurisdictions under sanctuary policies. The department said the Trump administration's immigration crackdown had resulted in more than 3 million illegal immigrants leaving the United States, including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations.