Is ICE targeting criminals or are they really just shooting people?

Anna Fall, Contributing Writer

On Oct. 8, ICE agents shot and wounded Oscar Belgal, a Dominican man from the Bronx, N.Y. during a targeted enforcement operation while his 5–year–old son was in the car. Belgal suffered multiple gunshot wounds, one of them being a superficial wound to his neck. His son was not harmed during the shooting and is now under the care of family members. 

According to CNN, The shooting occurred just after 4 p.m. in the Marble Hill neighborhood when an ICE agent discharged a weapon into the man’s vehicle. Marcos Charles, executive associate director of ICE, claimed that Belgal allegedly “drove his vehicle into two government vehicles, weaponized his vehicle and accelerated toward other officers.” ICE agents fired at him because they “believed that their lives and the lives of their partners and the general public were in danger.” However, video footage of the encounter was released by the New York Police Department (NYPD), and the ICE agents drew their guns when they first approached Belgal’s vehicle as he was simply reversing his car into a parking spot. They then proceeded to punch his window and fire their guns at him. 

Belgal’s attorneys have since filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, saying he was arrested “without a valid warrant and without any consideration of his individual circumstances.” New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, released a press and written statement about the incident on his social media, addressing the incident. He stated during the press statement, “How is it keeping anyone safe to have individuals wearing construction vests in masks with long guns? Residents have no idea if these are law enforcement agents or if they are simply attacking someone on the street. And when it comes to ICE, it begs the question: What’s the difference? There is no explanation for this.” 

As a Bronx native and daughter to immigrant parents, I was outraged and heartbroken for Oscar and his 5-year-old-son once I heard about the incident from the news. ICE has continuously broken up families and created tragedies for our minority communities. We’ve even seen ICE go to the length of murdering U.S. citizens, like Renée Good and Alex Pretti. 

The Supreme Court has also recently made it legal that ICE agents are allowed and justified to make arrests based on racial profiling, even to the extent of someone’s accent. I’ve seen multiple cases where ICE agents have arrested someone simply because they spoke any language other than English. It’s genuinely concerning the lengths this country is taking to make ICE legal because “they make this country safe.” How am I safe around murderers? How can they make our country safer when all they do is divide and destroy it? 

Unfortunately, Oscar is one out of many people who have either suffered or died in the hands of ICE. I’ve been seeing so many protests against ICE, especially recently within Buffalo, and I stand in solidarity with all ICE protests. No child, no family, no minority and no person is safe with ICE present, period. 

My prayers go out to Oscar, his 5-year-old son and his family during this time. Keep ICE out of our communities. Know your rights and educate others. Support immigrant businesses. Support immigrants. No one is illegal on this land. #ICEOUT.