Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is blasting New Yorks sanctuary policies and a far-left state lawmaker after federal immigration officers shot an illegal immigrant who allegedly rammed their vehicles and tried to run them down in the Bronx.
The confrontation unfolded when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents moved to arrest Oscar Belgal, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic with a known gang affiliation and a prior history of fleeing authorities. According to Western Journal, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Executive Associate Director Marcos Charles told Fox News that Belgal refused lawful orders to exit his vehicle and then escalated the situation into a violent attack on federal officers.
Charles said Belgal then accelerated his vehicle, smashing into two of our government ICE vehicles and then weaponized his vehicle and proceeded to accelerate going towards other officers. He added that Belgal evaded law enforcement before when we attempted to arrest him in September, underscoring that this was not a first encounter with the suspect but part of a pattern of defiance and flight.
Despite those facts, New York state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani responded not by condemning the alleged assault on law enforcement, but by attacking ICE itself and calling for its abolition. Mamdani claimed ICE has killed far more of our neighbors than they could ever have claimed to save, rhetoric that fits neatly within the broader progressive push to dismantle immigration enforcement and maintain sanctuary policies that shield illegal immigrants from federal authorities.
Mullin, who now oversees the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trumps second administration, pushed back forcefully on that narrative and on the local leadership that enables it. Well, Mayor, if you abolish ICE, Mullin asked, who will then take criminals off the streets of your own town?a pointed question aimed at New York Citys Democratic leadership, which has long embraced sanctuary-city status.
From Mullins perspective, the blame for the Bronx incident lies squarely with state and local officials who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. He argued that their policies create a revolving door for dangerous offenders who should have been removed from the country long ago instead of being released back into American neighborhoods.
If sanctuary politicians refuse to take care of their own streets, President Trump has made it very clear we will, Mullin said in a video posted to X, signaling that the administration will not allow local resistance to derail federal law enforcement. He emphasized that The state of New York knew he was illegal and they chose to release him back into the streets, noting that Belgal had a known gang affiliation and that he had fled from ICE once before and was suspected of involvement in the shooting of a Customs and Border Protection agent.
For Mullin, this is not an isolated failure but a predictable outcome of a broader ideological project that elevates the interests of illegal immigrants over the safety of American citizens and lawful residents. Sanctuary politicians, they create an environment for criminal activity to thrive, Mullin said in a post on X, arguing that these policies send a clear message to criminals that consequences will be minimal and federal detainers can be ignored.
He tied the episode directly to Trumps broader law-and-order agenda, which stands in stark contrast to the leniency favored by progressive city halls and statehouses. President Trump, he made it very clear he was going to restore law and order in our cities and our towns and our states, despite what happens with career politicians that put criminals in front of law-abiding citizens, Mullin said, framing the administrations approach as a necessary corrective to years of soft-on-crime governance.
When you have sanctuary cities and sanctuary politicians, you endanger the safety of the public, he said, arguing that the Bronx confrontation is precisely the kind of violent escalation that becomes more likely when local officials refuse to cooperate with ICE. In that environment, he suggested, federal officers are forced to apprehend repeat offenders on the street rather than in controlled settings, increasing the risk to both agents and bystanders.
Mullin said Mamdanis inflammatory rhetoric only adds fuel to an already volatile situation by demonizing the very officers tasked with enforcing the law. His words are dangerous and incite hostility, Mullin said in a post on X, warning that such language can embolden criminals and further erode respect for law enforcement at every level.
He went further, accusing Mamdani of effectively turning his back on the officers who protect his own city while siding rhetorically with those who attack them. Mullin noted that Mamdani is stabbing his own officers with words just as illegal immigrants stab them with weapons, a stark metaphor that reflects the secretarys view of the moral stakes involved.
NYPD officers are some of the finest officers we have out there. Just last week, one was stabbed seven times by illegals. One that we had a detainer on that New York released. Both had extensive criminal backgrounds, Mullin said in a post on X, highlighting another case in which local authorities allegedly ignored federal warnings and released dangerous individuals back into the community.
He then challenged New Yorks political class and activist community over their selective outrage and silence when the victims are police officers rather than criminal suspects. Did the mayor of New York say anything about that? Did the individuals thats in the streets demanding justice for this criminal that we picked up yesterday? Did anybody come out for the officer that was stabbed seven times by these criminals? he asked.
Not a word was said. Not a word was said by the mayor. Not a word was said by the governor, he said, arguing that this double standard reveals the true priorities of progressive leaders who rush to condemn federal agents but have little to say when their own officers are attacked. For conservatives like Mullin, the Bronx shooting and the stabbing of an NYPD officer are not just isolated crimes but symptoms of a deeper crisis created by sanctuary policies, anti-police rhetoric, and a political culture that too often treats lawbreakers as victims and law enforcement as villains.
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