After an ICE agent in plainclothes shot and wounded 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in the Bronx in front of his 5-year-old child on Oct. 8, Belgal is being held in solitary confinement at a federal jail, as reported by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Belgal’s attorneys said in a statement that he does not have access to adequate medical care. The bullet fired by the ICE officer four days prior is still lodged in his neck.
“A bullet remains lodged in his neck, the left side of his face is numb and he can barely hear out of his left ear,” attorneys for the Legal Aid Society and Make the Road New York said in a joint statement.
The shooting drew immediate concern from elected officials such as Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who called the incident "unconscionable" and demanded an end to ICE enforcement in the city.
As reported by the Gothamist, attorneys also said that Belgal reported he has not been fed a proper meal since the shooting. He had been moved to New Jersey following the shooting and was relocated again to Sunset Park.
The New York Immigration Coalition announced on Oct. 13 that the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn Community Support Coalition would host a rally in support of Belgal in order “to bring to light the much-documented inhumane conditions at MDC Brooklyn and its role in facilitating ICE activities that terrorize our neighborhoods.”
“ICE actively makes communities less safe,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of New York Immigration Coalition in a press release. “We will not stand idly by while federal agents put our neighbors in danger.”
For the last year and a half, community members and faith leaders have stood outside every Tuesday in solidarity with those detained inside.
Currently, the Brooklyn detention center is housing approximately 1,500 people who have been detained and are facing federal criminal charges. According to NYIC, people in detention have reported “torturous and inhumane conditions” inside the prison, including lockdowns for more than 23 hours a day in 8-by-10-foot cells.
“Regardless of their involvement with the justice system or law enforcement, no human being should ever experience the tortuous conditions we’ve recorded at MDC Brooklyn,” MDC Community Support Coalition wrote in a statement.
Department of Homeland Security secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the actions of ICE officers shortly following the shooting, and called Belgal a “thug,” “gangbanger” and “possible murderer” in a press conference Friday.
The vigil and rally in support of Belgal is scheduled to be held at 5:00pm on Oct. 13, at the center at 80 29th St., and plans to see attendance from assemblymembers and advocates across the city to condemn ICE and demand justice for Belgal.
