Sanctuary policies led to the NYC ICE shooting if Mamdani cared hed cooperate with immigration enforcement

The shooting of Dominican national Oscar Belgal by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has triggered what are now predictable responses: street protests before the facts are known; demands by sanctuary politicos — including Mayor Mamdani — that the agency be “abolished.” But if he and others of his ilk truly cared about community safety, he’d be cooperating with immigration enforcement, not trying to gut it. The Department of Homeland Security claims that Belgal is an illegal alien with ties to the violent Trinitarios gang, and the NYPD has confirmed he has prior arrests for robbery and larceny, and drug charges that are still pending. Assuming those facts are true, ICE is required under both the immigration laws and the Laken Riley Act – — the latter named after a young student killed by an illegal migrant in broad daylight and passed on a bipartisan basis in January 2025 — to take him into custody. And yet sanctuary cities like New York actively hobble ICE officers’ ability to fulfill that federal duty. Belgal appears to be a poster boy for New York’s sanctuary diktats: DHS contends that after he was arrested in December 2023, he “was released into the community a few days later.” Mamdani claims he’s “angry” over the incident and has used it to renew his demands that the president “end all ICE actions” in New York. Such tub-thumping is rich given that the only reason immigration officers are forced to make “street arrests” is because sanctuary honchos like the mayor won’t let ICE into the city’s jails and detention facilities. Those places are where the agency would prefer to take custody of criminal aliens, for a variety of logical reasons.  Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Please provide a valid email.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

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