{"id":220357,"date":"2026-05-05T06:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T06:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/220357\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T06:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T06:07:15","slug":"mamdani-condemns-ice-tactics-after-operation-triggers-unrest-in-brooklyn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/220357\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani condemns ICE tactics after operation triggers unrest in Brooklyn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tensions intensified in Brooklyn<\/a> over the weekend after a federal immigration arrest sparked a crowd, political backlash, and a late-night confrontation outside a hospital.<\/p>\n

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> weighed in as videos spread online showing anti-ICE demonstrators trying to interfere with agents following the arrest of a man accused of assault and drug-related offenses. Speaking to Gothamist on Sunday, Mamdani said he had not watched the footage but reiterated his long-standing position, stating, \u201cI\u2019ve said time and time again, ICE raids are cruel and inhumane.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went further, adding, \u201cThey do nothing to serve in the interest of public safety,\u201d according to the outlet.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO: Zohran Mamdani schools immigrant New Yorkers on their right to say no to ICE<\/a><\/p>\n

The incident centered on the arrest of Chidozie Wilson Okeke, a Nigerian national identified by the Department of Homeland Security<\/a> as an undocumented immigrant with prior arrests tied to assault and drug possession. Authorities said the situation escalated Saturday night in Bushwick, where protests broke out and nine demonstrators were detained.<\/p>\n

Mamdani was not alone in criticizing the operation. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso took to X, warning that \u201cICE\u2019s presence in Bushwick is deeply alarming.\u201d He urged residents to stay alert, posting, \u201cIf you see ICE in your neighborhood, call or text the Hands Off NYC hotline.\u201d Reynoso also expressed appreciation for those who showed up, writing, \u201cTo our neighbors who quickly mobilized last night, thank you for making it loud and clear that ICE is not welcome in Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Sen. Julia Salazar echoed similar concerns online, encouraging the public to report sightings of federal agents. She described the heavy police presence as \u201cconcerning,\u201d arguing it was deployed against what she called \u201cclearly a justified gathering by local residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Federal authorities, however, painted a different picture of the arrest. According to DHS<\/a>, Okeke refused orders to exit his vehicle and allegedly attempted to strike agents with it. Officials said he became \u201cphysically combative\u201d during the encounter, trying to punch and elbow officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur officers followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest,\u201d DHS said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Following his apprehension, Okeke was taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center for evaluation. DHS said he continued to resist during the process, noting that he was \u201cthrowing himself to the floor and screaming\u201d before eventually being cleared by medical staff.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO: Mamdani rallies support for \u2018No Kings\u2019 protest, labels ICE rogue<\/a><\/p>\n

Authorities added that Okeke entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2023 and failed to leave by the required departure date of Feb. 26, 2024.<\/p>\n

Footage circulating online shows agents removing him from the hospital after the evaluation. Outside, demonstrators had gathered, and DHS reported that some individuals damaged agency vehicles and assaulted officers, leaving them with minor injuries.<\/p>\n

City Councilmember Sandy Nurse said she was present during the standoff, describing the arrest as a \u201ckidnapping.\u201d She wrote, \u201cWe did not have any information about the person ICE had detained, although we tried many times to get information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nurse said that coordination between ICE and the NYPD<\/a> ultimately allowed agents to move Okeke into federal vehicles and leave the area. She later thanked residents \u201cwho dropped everything and showed up to demand ICE out of our neighborhood,\u201d while also urging locals to report ICE activity.<\/p>\n

Mamdani has previously made his stance on the agency clear. During an appearance on ABC\u2019s The View, he said, \u201cI am in support of abolishing ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we see is an entity that has no interest in fulfilling its stated reason to exist,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead what it\u2019s doing is terrorizing people \u2014 no matter their immigration status, no matter the facts of the law, no matter the facts of the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ ALSO: Mamdani sets stage for police-free mental health response in NYC<\/a><\/p>\n

Police said eight of the nine people taken into custody during the protests now face charges including resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. One individual was issued a summons and later released, according to a Fox News report<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tensions intensified in Brooklyn over the weekend after a federal immigration arrest sparked a crowd, political backlash, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,86142,2300,2035,9198,10129,9,24,63,6398,7130],"class_list":["post-220357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-chidozie-wilson-okeke","tag-department-of-homeland-security","tag-ice","tag-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-ice","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-u-s-department-of-homeland-security","tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}