Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Sunday that New York City will investigate an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s shooting of an undocumented migrant, as well as the NYPD’s response to the incident.
The democratic socialist mayor, who has previously described ICE as “rotten to its core,” renewed his call for the federal agency to leave New York City. He also accused ICE of operating more like a terrorist organization than a law enforcement agency.
“The city is still dealing with having been terrorized by a rogue federal agency,” Mamdani said during an interview on MS Now.
Mamdani has repeatedly called for ICE to be abolished and said he urged President Trump and his administration to withdraw immigration agents from New York following the shooting of 28-year-old Dominican Republic native Oscar Belgal. Belgal was struck in the neck while riding in a moving vehicle with his 5-year-old son in the backseat.
Authorities said Belgal, who was shot by federal ICE agents during a chaotic confrontation in the Bronx, had previously terrorized former neighbors with a machete and was suspected of having ties to the violent Trinitarios street gang.
Belgal’s criminal record includes a 2023 conviction for grand larceny robbery and an August 2025 arrest on allegations that he sold fentanyl, cocaine and heroin.
Mamdani nevertheless said Belgal was “hurting” after being shot in the neck and that his 5-year-old son had been “traumatized.”
The mayor condemned the actions of ICE agents who, he said, used construction vests for cover and opened fire on a vehicle in “broad daylight.”
“It feels as if you’re looking at a mass shooter as opposed to seeing some purportedly representing a federal agency,” Mamdani said.
“What New Yorkers want to see is the end of ICE activities across our city. In New York City it is not acceptable to be firing at a moving vehicle … to be shooting at a car where there is a 5-year-old in it.
“There’s a reason why the NYPD would not be shooting at a moving vehicle,” he added.
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Mamdani acknowledged that his two-hour discussions with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin over the ICE shooting ended without an agreement.
The mayor said negotiations with the administration would continue.
Here’s the latest on the Bronx ICE shooting:
“The secretary did not think ICE did anything wrong,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani said he refused to detain Belgal because there was no warrant for his arrest.
“They’re making a mockery of what law and order is supposed to be, and then they want us to justify their actions for them,” Mamdani claimed.
Mamdani said his administration, particularly the NYPD, would review the events surrounding the shooting, the police response and the handling of protests over the following 24 hours.
The review will also examine how a Target parking lot was used as a staging area for ICE operations, he said.
“We will use every tool at our disposal to keep New York safe,” Mamdani said.
He also said that 70% of migrants detained by ICE do not have criminal records, arguing that the agency is “ripping families apart.”
“Trusting ICE’s word is a fool’s errand. It’s rinse and repeat,” Mamdani said. “I am demanding ICE cease operations in the city immediately. It leaves New York less safe.”