Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin adamantly defended federal immigration officers involved in the shooting of Oscar Belgal, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, in New York on Thursday.
Mullin told reporters at a Friday morning press conference at the DHS headquarters in Washington that the man U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers attempted to arrest on Thursday had an extensive criminal history and had a 5-year-old child in his vehicle when federal police approached him and he attempted to escape.
Officers were unaware at the time that Belgal had a child in the car despite tracking his movements in the lead-up to the shooting, Mullin said.
Marcos Charles, who oversees deportations at ICE, said Belgal had been under investigation and was wanted by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations arm for his connection to the shooting of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in a New York City park in July 2025.
“When we tried to pick him up in September, he fled. We did not pursue him,” Mullin told reporters. “In this particular case, we had taken all precautions to keep him from fleeing. He went ahead and flee because of the safety. We escalated, or because of his escalation, we had to use force.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a socialist, criticized ICE in a press conference on the street Thursday evening, claiming the officers were in plainclothes and face masks.
“There was no reasonable way to identify them as ICE agents,” Mamdani said.
During the arrest attempt, the undercover ICE officers identified themselves by voice and ordered Belgal to step out of his vehicle, according to Charles.
“He then accelerated his vehicle, smashing into two of our government ICE vehicles, and then weaponized his vehicle and proceeded to accelerate, going towards other officers,” Charles said. “Our officers, using their training and believing that their life and the life of the partners and general public were in danger, used their training and fired weapons. Mr. Belgal was struck by one of the bullets or fragments superficially in the neck. He stopped his vehicle. We arrested him, rendered first aid, and then took him to the hospital.”
Mullin added that he was confident Belgal knew who the undercover officers were at the time of the incident.
“He had fled once. He knew he was wanted. It wasn’t like it was unexpected to him,” Mullin said. “When you flee, especially for a criminal like him, he knows that officers aren’t going to give up on him. That’s for sure. So this wasn’t a surprise. I know he knew his day was coming.”
The incident was recorded on police-worn body cameras, but the footage is not being released yet due to a use of force investigation that the federal government is conducting, which is standard after an officer-involved shooting.
New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters at the city’s press conference Thursday evening that two plainclothes federal ICE officers approached Belgal’s car. One of the officers had a gun drawn at the driver’s side window. Tisch stated that evidence at the scene suggested at least one ICE officer fired seven rounds at Belgal.
The child in the vehicle was not harmed in the incident. Mullin said Belgal put the child’s life at risk by attempting to flee police.
“As a father of six, I would never endanger my kids,” Mullin said. “Oscar knew he had a child in his car. Oscar chose to accelerate at a high rate of speed, and ram two different vehicles as he was, as appears to be going towards officers, and so the public outcry should be also towards this criminal, this thug, this gangbanger, this possible murderer. The outrage should be with him for endangering the 5-year-old.”
On Thursday evening, Mamdani and Tisch said Belgal had two prior arrests for robbery and criminal sale of a controlled substance. Belgal pled guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny.
However, Charles charged that Belgal’s criminal history was extensive, to include charges in New York for robbery, grand larceny, theft armed with a deadly weapon, forcible theft, grand larceny in the fourth degree, and property taken from a person in a Class E felony.
Belgal was sentenced in April 2025 to five years on probation for the grand larceny conviction. ICE issued a request to the New York Police Department, known as a detainer, that asked for Belgal to be turned over to ICE, but NYPD did not cooperate as a sanctuary city where local law forbids it.
The DHS officials said the gang that Belgal “runs with” is known for theft by using weapons and mopeds.
Belgal was transported to New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital and “arrived in stable condition,” according to Tisch, who added that the child is in the custody of a family member.
Mulin said Belgal had since been transported out of the state to an ICE detention facility.