MARBLE HILL, The Bronx (WABC) — New York City officials and political leaders condemned federal immigration authorities Thursday night after a shooting involving a federal immigration officer in Marble Hill, a chaotic encounter that sparked protests in its wake.
Hundreds of protesters gathered Thursday evening at a hospital in Inwood where the man who was shot during an ICE operation was being treated for his injuries.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke out at a news conference less than an hour before midnight, calling what happened earlier in the day “an outrage.”
“ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe,” Mamdani said. “This is an agency that must be abolished.”
Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch hold update on ICE shooting.
The mayor said he spent hours on the phone with President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, negotiating the release of the 28-year-old man, which he says proved unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Bronx residents and elected officials expressed anger over the incident, which left local police dealing with the aftermath on city streets.
“We want ICE the (expletive) out of our neighborhood,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
“When ICE shows up in our communities, we know what’s going to happen. It is what happened to Alex Pretti. It is what continues to happen across this nation,” said New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the operation was targeted at arresting an undocumented man associated with the Trinitarios gang.
The agency said: “This criminal illegal alien was arrested by the NYPD on December 7, 2023, but was released into the community a few days later by reckless Democrat sanctuary policies that put American lives at risk.”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams criticized federal authorities and pushed back on how the incident could be characterized.
“They’re going to try to make the gentleman they shot the worst human being you’ve ever heard of. But I want you to know that a father picking up his child was shot by a rogue agency controlled by Donald Trump,” Williams said.
Federal authorities inspected a bullet hole left in a vehicle. ICE recently set a daily target of 3,000 arrests per day, up from 2,000, according to ABC News sources, though federal authorities are not calling it a quota.
“If you’re in the country illegally you have a problem. You shouldn’t be here,” White House border czar Tom Homan said.
Local politicians described the incident as terror in their communities.
“What happened here Thursday was predictable. For the last few weeks and months, ICE has been congregating at Van Cortlandt Park, at the Target parking lot,” one speaker said at the gathering.
The incident also drew political response ahead of the midterm elections.
“We are going to abolish ICE, and we’re going to take that to the federal level and do it in Congress,” said Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic candidate for the 13th Congressional District.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is calling for “full transparency” from federal authorities, and also said she spoke with the president and DHS Secretary Mullin, urging them to “halt ICE enforcement operations in New York,” and release body camera footage of the shooting to the public.
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