'Will Not Stand by While ICE Agents Terrorise Our Communities': NYC Mayor Mamdani as Anti-ICE Protests Erupt

New York: New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani on Thursday (local time) demanded an end to all US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the city after a man was shot by an ICE agent in the Bronx, as anti-ICE protesters clashed with the New York Police Department (NYPD) outside the hospital where the injured man was being treated.

In a post on X on Thursday (local time), Mamdani said that early reports indicated that ICE agents had surrounded a man and a five-year-old child in their car in the Marble Hill neighbourhood before firing multiple rounds. He added that the child was believed to be physically unharmed.

He said, “This afternoon in Marble Hill, a New Yorker was shot by an ICE agent in a residential neighbourhood. Early reports indicate agents surrounded him and a 5-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds. We believe the child was physically unharmed.” "This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation. I have called the president; when we speak, I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities. Our thoughts are with the injured New Yorker and his family tonight. We are praying for his recovery," Mamdani added.

Calling for ICE to leave the city, the mayor said, “Get ICE out of our neighbourhoods. Get ICE out of our hospitals. Get ICE off our streets. Get ICE away from our children.” He concluded his post with the words, “Abolish ICE.” Meanwhile, according to the New York Post, around 300 anti-ICE protesters gathered outside NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in the Bronx on Thursday night (local time), where the injured man was being treated after being shot in the neck by a federal agent.

The protesters called for ICE to leave the streets following the shooting earlier in the day. According to the newspaper, demonstrators chanted, “From Palestine to Mexico, all these walls have got to go.” "We want ICE off our streets. No justice, no peace," the protesters also chanted, according to the New York Post.

The report said NYPD officers attempted to keep the demonstrators at bay using barricades. Some protesters grabbed one of the barriers and pushed back, leading to a brief struggle during which at least one protester was arrested. The 28-year-old man from the Dominican Republic was recovering in the hospital after being shot during what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) called "a targeted enforcement operation," the newspaper reported. The man was reported to have ties to the Trinitarios gang. Sources told the New York Post that a five-year-old boy was inside the same car when the man was shot.

According to posts by ICE and DHS on X on Thursday (local time), the incident occurred at approximately 4 pm ET on October 8, when ICE officers were conducting an operation to arrest a Dominican Republic national with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny and multiple previous arrests.

ICE said the individual had also been arrested by the New York Police Department on December 7, 2023, but was released a few days later. The agency alleged that he had associations with the Trinitarios gang, which it linked to the shooting of a US Customs and Border Protection officer last year.

"During the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon, and the criminal illegal alien was injured," ICE said in its post, adding that officers “immediately rendered aid.” "The individual is alive and at a local hospital. The FBI and HSI are on the scene. The incident remains under investigation. More information will be shared as it becomes available," the agency added.

ICE also criticised sanctuary policies, arguing that the release of individuals it considers dangerous makes enforcement operations more unpredictable and puts officers and the public at risk. "When dangerous illegal aliens are released back onto the streets by radical sanctuary politicians, our officers are forced to make arrests at large in the community in unpredictable and dangerous environments," the agency said.

"Our officers should not have to risk their lives, and innocent Americans should not have to face unnecessary danger, because sanctuary politicians refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement," it added. A CBS News analysis found that there have been at least 30 shootings involving Department of Homeland Security officers during the second Trump administration, some of which have been fatal.

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