Zohran Mamdani Calls for Abolishing ICE After NYC Shooting: 'Get Out of Our Neighborhoods'

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for the abolition of ICE after an immigration enforcement agent shot a man in the Bronx on October 8.

"Get ICE out of our neighborhoods. Get ICE out of our hospitals. Get ICE off our streets. Get ICE away from our children," he wrote in a passionate X post in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. "Abolish ICE."

On October 8, a plainclothes ICE agent shot a man from the Dominican Republic, identified as Oscar Belgal, in the Bronx's Marble Hill neighborhood. Belgal was shot seven times and is in stable condition, per NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch. The incident stemmed from a targeted enforcement operation to arrest him, as it was alleged he was living in America illegally. Belgal has two prior arrests and was accused of having ties to the Trinitarios gang.

The plainclothes agent approached Belgal's car with a rifle while another agent stepped in front of the car. Belgal's 5-year-old son was in the vehicle and is now safely in his family's care after the shooting. It is unclear what prompted the agents to open fire.

The shooting led to a massive protest at the Bronx's NewYork-Presbyterian Allen hospital. Homeland Security moved Belgal to a "more secure facility outside New York" around 11 p.m., according to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

At the demonstration, Mamdani gave a fiery speech demanding ICE get out of New York City.

"The pretext of ICE is, in their words, ‘to keep this country safe.’ How is it keeping everyone safe to have... individuals wearing construction vests in masks with long guns," he asked. "Residents have no idea if these are law enforcement agents or if they are simply attacking someone on the street.”

"We want ICE out of our city. ICE out of our schools. ICE out of our hospitals, ICE out of our streets. ICE away from our kids," he continued. "We want that because we want to keep the city safe. We do not need them to do so. All they do is terrorize the city."

Mamdani said he called Mullin and President Donald Trump demanding the removal of ICE from New York.

"I made clear to the president, to the secretary, our request that ICE agents leave the scene entirely, as well as the demand that ICE stop its enforcement actions in New York City,” he said.

He also noted he attempted to negotiate the immediate release of Belgal from federal custody, but said the negotiations were "unsuccessful."

Secretary Mullin defended ICE's actions in a press conference the following morning and ripped into Mamdani, saying his comments were "dangerous and incite hostility."

Mullin pledged to ignore Mamdani's call to get ICE out of New York.

"We’re not putting a pause on enforcement,” he said.

“I’m sorry, we’re not,” he continued. “In fact, I’m not sorry. Our job is to enforce the nation’s laws and go after the worst of the worst, and our men and women do a dang good job at it every single day, and we will not stop doing our job.”