(Newsmax)
New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino on Newsmax on Friday blasted Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s response to a man being shot by immigration agents.
In a post on X, Mamdani called the shooting “unconscionable and incredibly serious” and demanded that President Donald Trump end immigration enforcement operations in New York City.
“I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities,” Mamdani wrote on social media.
Paladino said on “Carl Higbie: FRONTLINE” that Mamdani’s response was “absolutely sickening.”
“Zohran really needs to take a back seat to the federal government, because he seems to think he’s got some sort of power over Trump,” Paladino said.
Federal immigration officers opened fire on a Dominican man who they were trying to arrest in New York because they believed their lives were in danger, a senior ICE official said Friday.
The 28-year-old man, whom New York City police identified as Oscar Belgal, was shot in the neck Thursday as he drove his car with a 5-year-old boy inside, officials said.
“How dare he demand the release from the federal government for this guy to go free?” Paladino said.
“This is a sanctuary city and sanctuary state,” Paladino added. “I blame it firmly on our leadership here in the city and in the state. This is not a choir boy. This is somebody who came over the border during [former President Joe] Biden’s era.”
Paladino said the people outraged over the ICE shooting are not upset about other acts of violence in the city.
“How about that young kid who went to the bodega quite innocently, 15 years old, and he was shot and killed?” Paladino said. “Where is the outrage for the good, law-abiding citizens of the Bronx? You’re never going to see it so long as this guy is in office.
“Bring in ICE, bring them by the truckload and let them clean up our streets. I’ve just about had it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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