ICE shoots Dominican man in New York after car rams officers during arrest

US immigration officers shot a Dominican man in New York after they said he drove into their vehicles during an attempted arrest. The shooting has widened a bitter political clash over sanctuary policies, enforcement tactics and bodycam transparency.

In Short

• Officials said officers fired after Belgal accelerated towards them during blockade
• Police said at least seven rounds struck him below the left ear
• A five-year-old boy was inside the car during the confrontation

US federal immigration officers shot a Dominican man in New York during an attempted arrest after he drove his car into officers' vehicles and they believed their lives were in danger, a senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said on Friday.

The man was identified by New York City police as 28-year-old Oscar Belgal. ICE official Marcos Charles said Belgal was shot "superficially" in the neck. Officials also said a 5-year-old boy was in the car at the time of the shooting.

Charles said officers used their vehicles to block Belgal as he tried to drive away, but he accelerated towards them. Speaking at a news conference in Washington with US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Charles said, "Our officers, using their training and believing that their life and the life of the partners and the general public were in danger, used their training and fired weapons." The Department of Homeland Security said the news conference was about the "dangerous consequences of sanctuary city policies".

Mullin said ICE agents did not 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. Charles said ICE had issued a detainer on Belgal, who he described as being linked to a gang known for thefts involving weapons and mopeds.

Late on Thursday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, said they had pressed Mullin and Republican President Donald Trump to release Belgal, but were unsuccessful. They also urged the administration to immediately release body camera footage of the shooting and to stop immigration enforcement operations in the city. Mullin said Belgal is being held at a facility outside New York City, but declined to say where. He confirmed ICE officers were wearing body cameras that were switched on, but did not say when any footage would be released.

Protesters and local officials criticised the shooting as an example of the dangers of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Mamdani said late on Thursday at the scene, "There is no justification for what we have seen today." He also said the federal officers surrounding the vehicle wore construction vests and masks, making it difficult to identify them as immigration officers.

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

Much of Mullin's remarks on Friday were aimed at Mamdani and his immigration policy. He said, "Sanctuary politicians, they create an environment for criminal activity to thrive, not for the American citizens to be safe." Mullin said ICE has asked local officials in New York to hold more than 14,000 people for federal officers to collect and place in immigration detention. "Silence. Absolute silence is what we have gotten back," he said. "Why would they release these individuals back onto the streets?" He added, "We're enforcing our nation's laws. We're not picking and choosing. Why is that controversial? We should all want law and order on our streets." Mullin also criticised the attention on the case, saying, "This was a thug. The absolute worst of the worst. We're giving so much attention to this thug."

The shooting has now become the centre of a wider political dispute, with federal officials defending the officers' actions as a response to a threat, and New York leaders demanding Belgal's release, body camera footage and a halt to immigration operations in the city, while Belgal remains in federal custody outside New York City.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends