Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin refused to pause ICE enforcement in New York after a Bronx shooting, rejecting calls from sanctuary-state leaders to halt operations.
Federal immigration agents will keep working the streets of New York. That was the clear message Friday from the nation’s top homeland security official after officers wounded a man during a targeted stop in the Bronx.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stood at ICE headquarters in Washington and shut down demands to freeze enforcement. New York’s Democratic governor had asked him and President Donald Trump to stop operations in the state. Mullin said no.
CNBC reported that two plainclothes ICE officers approached a vehicle Thursday afternoon in the Marble Hill neighborhood as it backed into a parking spot. The man inside was later identified as Oscar Belgal, 28. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said he was shot in the neck. A 5-year-old child was also in the car.
Mullin did not soften his stance the next morning.
"We're not putting a pause on enforcement,"
he said. He went further.
"I'm sorry, we're not. In fact, I'm not sorry. Our job is to enforce the nation's laws and go after the worst of the worst, and our men and women do a dang good job at it every single day, and we will not stop doing our job."
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul issued furious rebukes of ICE. Hochul said she asked Mullin and the president to immediately halt operations in her state. Mullin used the Friday press conference to push back on that criticism.
Federal officials filled in the picture of who Belgal is and what happened at the scene. Just The News reported that Belgal is a Dominican national who entered the country illegally. He sustained a superficial neck wound. The child in the vehicle was unharmed. Officers rendered first aid and took him into custody.
DHS said Belgal refused orders, accelerated into two government vehicles, then moved toward officers. Agents fired in self-defense, believing their lives and the public were in danger.
"Belgal then allegedly weaponized his vehicle and moved his car toward other officers, who, believing that their lives and the lives of their partners and the general public were in danger, used their training and fired their weapons."
That account matches other federal descriptions of the stop. The Washington Examiner noted that Belgal had an extensive criminal history and tried to escape when officers approached to arrest him. Mullin defended the agents involved.
The criminal record is not minor. The New York Post detailed prior arrests for armed robbery, he was released without bail, and alleged sales of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin. Federal authorities linked him to the Trinitarios gang and a shooting involving a CBP officer. He entered the United States illegally around 2022. After treatment for the neck wound, he was transferred to federal custody at MDC Brooklyn. His 5-year-old son was unharmed.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Executive Associate Director Marcos Charles discussed the Thursday incident at the same Friday news conference. Fox News covered Charles’s public comments on the shooting of Belgal in New York City. Charles said Belgal “accelerated” at the agents, “smashing” into two of them.
Neighbors rejected the idea that Belgal represented ordinary New Yorkers. Officials stressed he was the target of a planned enforcement action, not a random stop.
Mullin tied the episode to larger policy failures. He argued that local leaders who limit cooperation with immigration authorities leave communities exposed.
"Sanctuary politicians create an environment for criminal activity to thrive, not for American citizens to be safe."
That charge lands against a backdrop of repeated clashes over ICE work in New York. After the Bronx shooting, Mamdani demanded ICE abolition rather than tighter cooperation with federal agents removing people with serious records.
Mullin has also accused the mayor of undercutting his own police force while attacking federal officers. The secretary’s broader point is straightforward: when cities and states refuse to honor detainers or share information, people with violent and drug histories stay on the street until a federal team finally moves in.
Similar flashpoints have played out elsewhere. A Venezuelan illegal immigrant faced charges after an ICE officer shooting during a chase in Austin, underscoring the risks agents face when targets flee or fight.
New York’s elected leaders framed the Marble Hill shooting as proof that ICE should stand down. Mullin framed it as proof the opposite is true. Belgal’s rap sheet, armed robbery, alleged hard-drug trafficking, gang links, is the kind of case federal officers say they are paid to handle. A child in the back seat raised the stakes. Officers still closed on a man they say tried to ram them.
The timeline is short and public. Thursday afternoon: ICE officers approach Belgal’s vehicle in Marble Hill as it backs into a spot. He is shot in the neck. Tisch describes the basic facts that evening. Friday morning: Mullin and ICE leadership answer at headquarters in Washington and refuse any pause.
Hochul’s request to halt operations statewide met a flat rejection. Mamdani’s rebuke did not change the operational order. Federal officials continue to describe the shooting as defensive after a vehicle assault during an attempted arrest of a priority target.
Political fallout continues along familiar lines. Mullin has accused Mamdani of dangerous rhetoric that leaves officers without backup from City Hall. The secretary’s message to agents remains that their core job, removing the worst offenders, does not stop because local politicians object.
Other recent cases keep the same tension in view. Coverage of a Pennsylvania officer charged after a shooting shows how quickly use-of-force incidents become political weapons. In New York, the facts federal officials have released point to a targeted stop, a ramming attempt, and a superficial wound followed by aid and arrest.
Belgal is alive and in federal custody. The child walked away unharmed. ICE leadership says the officers followed their training when a vehicle became a weapon. New York’s top Democrats wanted a stand-down. They did not get one.
When illegal immigrants with armed-robbery and drug records stay free under sanctuary rules, federal officers eventually knock. Pretending those arrests can wait forever is how public safety gets treated as optional.