Outcry in Brooklyn: Lawyers Slam 'Deplorable Conditions' After Man Shot by ICE Agents
Oscar Belgal, a Dominican man, was shot by a federal immigration agent in Manhattan/Bronx and is now held in "deplorable conditions" in a Brooklyn jail with a bullet lodged in his neck. His lawyers are fighting his deportation while public outrage mounts over the incident and his urgent need for surgery.
A Dominican man, Oscar Belgal, 28, was shot in the neck by a federal immigration agent during a "targeted enforcement operation" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Marble Hill neighborhood, on the edge of Manhattan and the Bronx, on a Thursday afternoon. Belgal was inside an SUV at the time, and his 5-year-old child, who was also in the vehicle, fortunately escaped injury. Federal authorities defended the shooting, asserting that Belgal had "weaponized" the SUV by accelerating into two federal vehicles.
Following the shooting, Belgal's lawyers from the Legal Aid Society and Make the Road New York have revealed that he has been held in "deplorable conditions" at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, since his arrest. Bodycam footage released by the NYPD showed officers transporting Belgal to a hospital in a police vehicle immediately after the incident. Doctors have informed Belgal that he urgently requires surgery to remove the bullet lodged in his neck, a procedure deemed too dangerous to perform immediately without a specialized surgeon.
His medical condition is severe: a bullet remains in his neck, the left side of his face is numb, and he can barely hear out of his left ear. Despite the critical need for surgery, the procedure was delayed. His legal team requested his transfer to the Brooklyn jail to continue efforts to prevent his deportation, and a judge has since issued a temporary block on his removal from the country.
The legal groups vehemently criticized the conditions of his detention, stating, "Mr. Belgal is living through an unimaginable nightmare." They further condemned the incident and subsequent treatment, asserting, "The deliberate indifference Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showed toward Mr. Belgal when he was shot on Thursday, and the treatment he has endured in detention since, are further examples of the cruelty and disregard for basic human dignity that have long defined this agency."
The incident has provoked significant protest and outrage among New Yorkers and elected officials. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for President Donald Trump to withdraw all ICE agents from the city. The Brooklyn jail itself, operated by the federal Bureau of Prisons, has a long history of criticism from federal judges and inmates alike, cited for issues such as a lack of heat, substandard food, and a violent atmosphere. Neither the Bureau of Prisons nor ICE immediately responded to inquiries seeking comment on the matter.