Elected officials across Queens have renewed calls for ICE to be abolished and removed from the city in the wake of last week’s shooting in Marble Hill, stating that residents in immigrant-dense neighborhoods across Queens are living through a “five-alarm fire” in the aftermath of the shooting.
Several protests have taken place since the incident last Thursday, when federal agents opened fire at 28-year-old Oscar Belgal while he was in a car with his five-year-old son. ICE and federal officials have claimed that Belgal refused to comply with an order to exit his vehicle, also accusing him of attempting to “weaponize” his vehicle against agents. Critics have strongly disputed those allegations.
The NYPD said at least one ICE agent fired seven shots at 28-year-old Oscar Bergal, striking him in the neck below the ear, during the incident. Belgal has claimed in Brooklyn federal court that agents did not identify themselves before firing at him.
U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzalez has temporarily barred Belgal’s deportation and ordered federal authorities to prove why he shouldn’t be immediately released from custody. Belgal’s attorneys say the 28-year-old has been denied surgery recommended by doctors following the shooting. Attorneys allege that a bullet remains lodged in Belgal’s neck following the shooting.
A number of elected officials in Queens have called on ICE to be removed from the city in the aftermath of the incident, including Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, who said the recent incident is “terrifying” residents across her district.
González-Rojas, who currently represents the 34th Assembly District and the state Senator-elect for the 13th Senate District, said she is “fearful” that a similar incident will unfold in the immigrant-dense neighborhoods that she represents, including Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights.
“ICE is literally a rogue agency that is hunting Latinos and immigrants to kidnap them,” González-Rojas said in an interview. “It’s terrifying.”
Brian Romero, the Assembly Member-elect to succeed González-Rojas in AD34, similarly blasted the federal immigration agency as a “rogue agency” and claimed that it had shown itself to be “incredibly violent.”
“(ICE agents) act with impunity and ask questions later,” Romero said in an interview. “We saw that happen in the Bronx, and we have been saying that this could happen for quite some time if we don’t do more to rein in ICE and ensure that we’re using every level of government to do that.”
Both Romero and González-Rojas said increased ICE activity has reduced foot traffic in immigrant-dense neighborhoods, negatively impacting local businesses. They expressed concerns that the Marble Hill shooting would further reduce foot traffic in areas with significant immigrant populations.
“This is a fascist administration that is trying to make sure that we do not go to school, we do not go to work,” Romero said. “It is an administration that is using fear in every single way possible to ensure that they stop my neighbors.”
González-Rojas, meanwhile, said local businesses in her district have been “struggling” since President Donald Trump took office for a second term in January 2025.
“I talk to our small business owners and our street vendors and my neighbors every day and you see the the fear and the impact on their businesses,” she said.
Other elected officials in Queens have also raised concerns about the Marble Hill shooting, including Council Member Julie Won, who criticized ICE for shooting Belgal in the presence of his son and close to a public school. Won further accused ICE agents of “parading military-grade weapons” through the neighborhood to intimidate New Yorkers.
Won also called on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch after NYPD officers reportedly became involved in violent confrontations with protesters in the wake of the Marble Hill shooting. She also called on Mamdani to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group (SRG).
“In a sanctuary city, the NYPD should protect us. Instead, it attacked New Yorkers protesting the shooting. Our outrage is justified. The Mayor must fire Commissioner Jessica Tisch and disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group and Community Response Team to protect our neighbors.” Won said in a statement.
Council Member Tiffany Cabán, meanwhile, accused the Trump Administration of using ICE to “demonize immigrants” to distract from its “corruption.”
“Let’s be clear: this isn’t about safety. Children are getting kidnapped and now watching their parents get shot because of Trump’s xenophobia,” Cabán said in a statement issued last week. “We need to get ICE the hell out of our city, abolish ICE, and hold this administration accountable for the horrors they have inflicted on our immigrant communities.”
Several Queens-based state lawmakers and Democratic nominees also signed onto a joint statement by 17 state socialists in office callign for ICE to be abolished and for Tisch to be fired if she did not disband the SRG and end any alleged NYPD assistance for ICE operations.
Mamdani said recently that he has “no plans” to fire Tisch, pointing to her efforts in bringing crime in the city to historic lows. Gov. Kathy Hochul described Mamdani’s decision to stand by Tisch as a “smart decision.”
But several state socialists have also said that the Marble Hill shooting is evidence that ICE should be abolished.
State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, who joined Assembly Members Claire Valdez and Diana Moreno as well as Democratic candidates Samantha Katan, David Orkin and Aber Kawas in issuing the joint statement, said in a separate statement that the Marble Hill shooting was “another tragic and horrific example” of why ICE should be abolished.
“New Yorkers should not have to live in fear that this rogue agency, controlled by a fascist administration, can harass, kidnap, or shoot our neighbors at any time,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “Shooting in a residential neighborhood puts everyone at risk, and shows that it does not matter who you are or your immigration status, if ICE is able to continue operating you are not safe.
“The level of violence experienced in Marble Hill last week, in broad daylight, in front of a helpless child, should not have occurred. We must abolish ICE now.”
Romero and González-Rojas, meanwhile, raised concerns that local businesses were allowing ICE to use their parking lot as staging posts for operations in Queens, echoing comments made last week by protesters, who took aim at Target in Marble Hill for allegedly allowing ICE to use its parking lot for operations in the area.
Romero and González-Rojas pointed fingers at the Bulova Corporate Center and TD Bank for allowing ICE to use their parking lots for staging in Assembly District 34. Neither business has responded to a request for comment.
“We have video, we have photos, documented proof that they’ve been using the Bulova parking lot,” González-Rojas said. “We have to hold these companies accountable.”
González-Rojas said there were “numerous sightings” of ICE agents in two separate TD Bank locations on Northern Boulevard but said those reports have subsided recently after locals filed complaints and called on the bank to “be more vigilant.”
“We haven’t heard of recent reports (at TD Bank),” González-Rojas said.
Not every elected official in Queens has called for ICE to be abolished, however.
Republican Council Member Joann Ariola described calls for ICE to be abolished as “hogwash,” accusing left-leaning elected officials of attempting to “whip people into a frenzy to suit a political agenda.” Ariola further claimed that elected officials did not raise concerns when ICE carried out operations under Democratic administrations and said the operation to arrest Belgal was “absolutely justified,” describing the 28-year-old as a “career criminal.”
“ICE agents are doing their jobs now just as they have always done, and they’re removing dangerous wanted criminals from our streets,” Ariola said in a statement. “When (Border Czar) Tom Homan did the same thing Obama, he was given a presidential award. Today, people make him out to be a supervillain.
“The only difference between then and now is that now we have the media and politicians inciting people into a frenzy to attack ICE agents and disrupt lawful operations.”