Trump admin rejects Mamdani's demand to halt ICE operations in NYC after Bronx shooting

WASHINGTON, DC: The Trump administration on Friday, October 9, rejected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s demand to halt Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the city after an agent shot and wounded a 28-year-old man in the Bronx.

Mamdani said that he spent hours speaking with President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin seeking the man’s release from federal custody, but the negotiations have failed. The incident has put the mayor’s working relationship with Trump under pressure as officials defended the operation and protesters gathered near the scene.

Markwayne Mullin rules out ICE pause after talks with Mamdani fail

The shooting occurred around 4 pm on Thursday, October 8, in Marble Hill, where federal immigration agents were attempting to arrest Oscar Belgal, a Dominican national. A 5-year-old child, believed by the New York Police Department to be Belgal’s son, was also inside the vehicle and was not injured.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that surveillance footage showed plainclothes agents approaching Belgal’s gray Honda CR-V with guns drawn before the vehicle moved forward and out of the camera’s view. She said ballistic evidence indicated that at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds. Belgal was struck in the neck, below his left ear, and was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

Mamdani said he offered to have the NYPD take the lead in investigating the incident, provided federal agents left the scene. The Mayor also sought an end to ICE enforcement operations in New York City and the release of Belgal from federal custody.

Mullin said that the administration was willing to transfer Belgal to NYPD custody if city police agreed to pursue charges against him. Mamdani declined to pursue charges, as a person familiar with the discussions stated that the city believed there was no warrant or legal basis to detain him.

“He was wanting us to release this individual back onto the streets,” Mullin told reporters on Friday. “If NYPD wants to take the charges and pursue the charges, we’ll be happy to release him into the custody of NYPD. I shared that with the mayor. The mayor once again said we will not be detaining him.”

Mullin ruled out a pause in immigration enforcement, saying, “We’re not putting a pause on enforcement.”

Shooting intensifies clash over sanctuary policies and ICE

Mamdani condemned the shooting during a late-night press conference near the scene, describing ICE as “rotten to its core” and calling for the agency to be abolished. “Today’s shooting is only further devastating confirmation of what we have long known: that ICE operates with impunity, that they sow chaos across our country,” Mamdani said.

The Mayor also questioned the decision to fire into a vehicle carrying a young child. Mullin, meanwhile, defended the agents and linked the incident to New York’s sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. “The men and women at ICE each day are enforcing the laws that he refuses to enforce,” Mullin said. 

Mamdani’s approach to Trump has previously included direct meetings and public efforts to maintain a working relationship despite their political differences. His allies have argued that the engagement can help protect New York from broader enforcement operations and federal funding disputes. However, the recent failed negotiations highlighted the limits of that strategy.