Federal judge blocks deportation of Dominican illegal immigrant shot by ICE during NYC arrest attempt
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of an illegal immigrant who was shot Thursday during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in New York City, as local and federal authorities on Friday released video surrounding the shooting.
In a two-page order, U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken, an Obama appointee, ruled that the man — whom police identified as Oscar Belgal but who was named in a court document as Oscar Bergal — cannot be removed from the United States without a court order while his petition challenging his detention remains pending.
The judge also barred federal authorities from transferring him to any facility outside the Southern or Eastern Districts of New York or the District of New Jersey without prior court approval.
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In a Friday court hearing, a judge dismissed a defense application for a temporary restringing order with prejudice because federal prosecutors didn't challenge Oetken's order that Belgal not be deported.
Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national, was shot after refusing to comply with lawful orders while ICE officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest him in the Bronx, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
During the encounter, the Belgal pulled his vehicle forward before at least one officer fired seven rounds, striking him below his left ear, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference near the shooting scene late Thursday.
ICE officers used their vehicles to block him as he attempted to drive away, but Belgal accelerated toward them, Marcos Charles, a senior ICE official, said Friday during a news conference in Washington alongside DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
"Our officers, using their training and believing that their life and the life of the partners and the general public were in danger, used their training and fired weapons," Charles said.
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A 5-year-old boy inside the vehicle was unharmed. Belgal survived the shooting and was treated at a local hospital, Charles added.
He has since been released. However, his lawyers said he still has a bullet inside his body.
ICE agents were unaware that a child was inside the vehicle, but Charles said Belgal "was aware" and chose to put the boy at risk by attempting to evade law enforcement. In a statement, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said her office was working to establish the facts of the case and determine the next course of action.
"Any shooting in the Bronx is a matter of grave concern that impacts community safety," Clark said. "As District Attorney, it is my top priority to protect the well-being of everyone in the borough. We will continue to conduct a thorough investigation where our process is guided by the evidence and the law."
Outside the courthouse, Harold Solis, an immigration attorney with the nonprofit Make the Road New York, criticized the ICE officers' actions.
"Regardless of whether or not someone has a criminal history, it is not lawful and it is not OK to shoot a father in an afternoon with his son in the back seat," Solis told reporters Friday. "That is not how we resolve legal disputes in this country. We resolve them in buildings like these, in courtrooms."
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On Friday, the NYPD released bodycam footage showing officers arriving at the scene following the gunfire. The NYPD was not involved in the shooting incident.
Video shows the suspect sitting handcuffed on the ground as officers arrive. In the background, a crowd can be heard voicing anger and dismay at the shooting.
According to DHS, Belgal has a prior grand larceny conviction and previous arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession, and weapons possession. Federal authorities also alleged that he has ties to the notorious Trinitarios street gang.
Hours later, the NYPD released surveillance video taken from two vantage points. The muted video shows one angle of the seconds right before the shooting and another angle right after the shooting.
At one vantage point, a parked car begins to back up as two people approach, one of whom is pointing a gun at the driver's side window.
The car then pulls away, and the other person pulls out a weapon. The second angle shows pedestrians ducking and running for cover as shots ring out. Later in the clip, someone appearing to be a law enforcement officer is seen holding a small child.