Mullin Defends ICE After Shooting Intensifies New York Dispute

A shooting involving a federal immigration officer in Manhattan has intensified tensions between the Trump administration and New York's Democratic leadership, prompting Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to defend Immigration and Customs Enforcement and criticize Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul over their responses to federal enforcement actions.

At a news conference in Washington on Friday, Mullin argued that New York's sanctuary-city policies undermine public safety. His remarks followed Thursday's shooting of 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in Marble Hill, Manhattan, during an attempted arrest by an ICE officer.

According to the report by VINnews, the officer shot Belgal in the neck. A 5-year-old child inside the vehicle was not injured. Federal and New York officials offered competing accounts of the encounter, while Mamdani and Hochul called for changes or accountability following the incident.

Mullin also cited an earlier attack on an NYPD officer, alleging that two immigrants who were in the country illegally had stabbed the officer seven times. He said one of the individuals had been subject to a federal immigration detainer before New York released him, and claimed both had extensive criminal backgrounds.

Defending the city's police force, Mullin said, "NYPD officers are some of the finest officers we have out there. Just last week, one was stabbed seven times by illegals. One that we had a detainer on that New York released.

Both had extensive criminal backgrounds." Markwayne Mullin, Homeland Security Secretary, made the remarks at the Washington news conference.

He questioned why New York's elected leaders had not responded publicly to the attack on the officer with the same urgency they had shown after the ICE shooting.

"Did the mayor of New York say anything about that? Did the individuals that's in the streets demanding justice for this criminal that we picked up yesterday? Did anybody come out for the officer that was stabbed seven times by these criminals?" Mullin asked.

He followed with a separate criticism of the governor and mayor, saying, "Not a word was said. Not a word was said by the mayor. Not a word was said by the governor."

Mullin also challenged Mamdani's position on abolishing ICE, arguing that federal agents remove people accused of serious crimes from communities. He said the mayor's criticism of the agency conflicted with the need to protect local police officers.

"We arrest thousands, weekly, that are criminals, and he turns a blind eye to it and won't even stand up for his own NYPD officers, that, by the way, protect him every single day!" Mullin said.

Responding to Mamdani's description of ICE as "rotten to the core," Mullin defended federal officers and their enforcement responsibilities.

"Really? When men and women at ICE each day are enforcing the laws that he refuses to enforce!" Mullin said.

He also asked how the city would handle serious offenders if the agency were abolished, specifically raising concerns about people accused of murder, theft and gang-related crimes.

"If you abolish ICE, who's going to take your criminals off the streets of your own town? Who's going to take the murderers and the thieves and the gangbangers?" Mullin asked.

He continued by arguing that local authorities were being prevented from addressing those cases themselves.

"Who's going to take them off the streets because you are not allowing NYPD officers to do it, and they want to!" Mullin said.

The shooting in Marble Hill has drawn sharply different accounts from federal and local authorities. Federal officials said officers believed their lives were in danger during the attempted arrest, while New York police officials said plainclothes federal officers approached the vehicle with guns drawn and fired seven rounds as it began moving forward.

Mamdani condemned the shooting and called for ICE operations in New York City to end. Hochul separately demanded transparency and accountability as the dispute over federal immigration enforcement and local cooperation continued.