Democratic Socialists revolt over ICE shooting in NYC, demand Mamdani fire police commissioner
Democratic Socialists have turned on Mayor Zohran Mamdani, demanding he fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch following a bloody ICE shooting that left a suspected gang member wounded in front of his young son.
The rebellion has placed Mamdani on a collision course with the left-wing movement that propelled him to City Hall, with activists accusing his administration of failing to stand up to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
In a blistering public statement, the Democratic Socialists of America demanded the immediate removal of Tisch and the dismantling of two specialized NYPD units.
‘We demand that Mayor Zohran Mamdani fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and use every power available to him to drive ICE out of New York City,’ the organization declared.
The group also called for the abolition of the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group and Community Response Teams, escalating an already bitter confrontation over policing and immigration enforcement.
But Mamdani has refused to bow to the pressure, insisting he has no plans to replace Tisch despite promising a sweeping review of the shooting and its chaotic aftermath.
The political firestorm erupted after federal immigration agents opened fire on 28-year-old Dominican national Oscar Belgal during an attempted arrest in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx last Thursday.
Belgal was shot in the neck as his terrified five-year-old boy sat in the back seat.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch speaks as Mayor Zohran Mamdani stands behind her last week. Democratic Socialists are demanding he fire her following the ICE shooting in the Bronx
In this image taken from police-worn body camera video released the NYPD, law enforcement personnel tend to a Oscar Belgal, 28, a Dominican man who was shot by ICE officers
The Democratic Socialists of America issued a furious statement demanding ICE leave New York City following the shooting of Oscar Belgal in front of his five-year-old son
The child was uninjured, but the confrontation triggered furious protests and renewed scrutiny of ICE’s increasingly aggressive immigration operations.
Federal officials insist their agents fired because they feared for their lives after Belgal allegedly accelerated his vehicle and struck two government cars while attempting to escape.
Marcos Charles, head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, defended the agents’ actions during a Washington news conference.
‘Our officers, using their training and believing that their life and the life of the partners and the general public were in danger, used their training and fired weapons,’ Charles said.
But surveillance footage released by the NYPD has raised troubling questions about the chaotic confrontation.
One recording shows two plainclothes immigration officers rushing toward Belgal’s parked vehicle with their guns drawn.
An agent can be seen striking the car’s windows with his firearm before the driver accelerates away and disappears from the camera’s view.
Another angle captures bystanders scrambling for safety moments later as the vehicle comes to rest against a concrete barrier, its windshield and rear passenger window riddled with bullet holes.
Furious demonstrators rallied against ICE following last week’s shooting, with protesters carrying signs demanding the indictment of the federal agent responsible
Hundreds of protesters flooded New York City streets carrying ‘ICE OUT OF NYC’ banners as outrage erupted over the shooting of the 28-year-old Dominican immigrant
The footage does not show the actual shooting, leaving crucial questions about the agents’ use of force unanswered.
Tisch subsequently revealed that federal officers fired seven rounds during the confrontation.
The NYPD was not involved in the immigration operation itself, although city officers responded afterward and transported the wounded man to hospital.
Body-camera footage shows Belgal sitting on the pavement with his hands behind his back as federal agents attend to his injuries.
NYPD officers then lift him into a police SUV and race him to a nearby hospital.
‘Yo put pressure. Put pressure,’ one officer can be heard shouting as the vehicle reverses down the street.
The shooting has also ignited controversy over Belgal’s criminal history.
Federal officials allege he was associated with a robbery crew that used mopeds and weapons, and say he was convicted of grand larceny last year, receiving five years’ probation.
He has also pleaded not guilty to narcotics-sale charges in a separate pending case.
But Democratic Socialist congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier has accused Tisch of attempting to demonize the wounded immigrant by publicly discussing his criminal record.
Chevalier demanded the commissioner’s resignation the day after the shooting, accusing her of shielding what she characterized as a ‘militia’ of armed ICE officers.
During an interview with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, Chevalier argued that Belgal’s criminal history ‘doesn’t even matter’ when evaluating the shooting.
Her remarks intensified the growing divide between Mamdani and activists demanding a far more confrontational response to federal immigration enforcement.
Appearing on MS Now on Sunday, the mayor was pressed about the calls for Tisch’s removal.
One protester held a sign demanding ‘DITCH TISCH NOW!’ as pressure mounted on Mamdani to remove his police commissioner over the NYPD’s response.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has resisted demands from his socialist allies to fire Jessica Tisch, insisting he has no plans to replace the NYPD commissioner
He instead defended the NYPD’s limited involvement in the incident.
‘The NYPD was not at the scene when the incident took place, when ICE shot at Mr. Belgal and his 5-year-old son in the car,’ Mamdani said.
He explained that officers responded to a 911 call and transported Belgal to hospital.
‘What I will be doing with the police commissioner is a review of that entire 24 hour period,’ he added.
Mamdani also maintained that the Strategic Response Group had not participated in the shooting or the immediate police response, although he reiterated his intention to disband the unit.
The mayor had already told the New York Times on Friday that ‘there are no plans’ to change the NYPD’s leadership.
He nevertheless pledged to examine every aspect of the incident, including the police response to subsequent demonstrations and the use of privately owned parking lots to stage federal immigration operations.
Mamdani said his administration would consider ‘every action the city can take to protect New Yorkers from ICE’s terror.’
The mayor previously branded the shooting an ‘outrage,’ declaring: ‘There is no justification for what we have seen today.’
Belgal had two previous arrests in New York City
Oscar Belgal was shot during an interaction with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in New York City on Thursday
Mayor Mamdani has also faced criticism for repeatedly meeting with President Donald Trump, most recently at Gracie Mansion last month
Meanwhile, Belgal remains in federal custody in Brooklyn, with his lawyers saying a bullet is still lodged in his body.
His attorney, Harold Solis, condemned the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
‘You’re not supposed to get shot in your car with your child sitting in the back. Period,’ Solis said following a court hearing.
Belgal’s lawyers have challenged the legality of his detention, securing a temporary court order preventing his removal from the United States.
Mamdani and Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul have also unsuccessfully pressed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Trump to release him.
Mullin has defended the federal operation and accused New York officials of making immigration enforcement more dangerous by refusing to cooperate fully with ICE.
The Bronx District Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting, while federal authorities have promised to release their agents’ body-camera footage.
