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| Comrade Zohran Mamdani |
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Department of Homeland Security has responded to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s latest denunciation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, warning that his rhetoric risks inciting hostility toward the very agency tasked with removing criminal offenders from American streets.
DHS Press Secretary Markwayne Mullin pushed back Friday after Mamdani used an ICE shooting in New York City as an opportunity to renew his call to abolish the agency. The mayor declared Thursday that ICE has "killed far more of our neighbors than they could ever have claimed to save," apparently concluding that the best way to address immigration enforcement controversies is to eliminate immigration enforcement altogether. Either he's a dolt or has a secret plan he's keeping close to the vest.
Mullin was not persuaded by the proposal.
"His words are dangerous and incite hostility," Mullin said during a Friday press conference. "Well mayor, if you abolish ICE, who's going to take criminals off the streets of your own town?"
Perhaps that's Mamdani's feature, not the problem.
It was an inconvenient question for a mayor whose preferred solution to the agency’s existence appears to be making the agency cease to exist, leaving the practical details of enforcing immigration law for another administration to sort out.
The controversy followed an incident Thursday involving Oscar Belgal, who was shot by ICE officers after allegedly refusing to leave his vehicle and driving into two government vehicles, according to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Executive Associate Director Marcos Charles.
The incident, Charles explained, involved considerably more than an immigration officer knocking on a car window and asking an occupant to update his address.
"He refused lawful orders to exit his vehicle," Charles said. "He 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 said.
Mullin also addressed reports that a child was inside the vehicle during the confrontation. Authorities, he explained, were unaware of the child's presence at the time. Belgal, however, knew the child was there.
"Oscar knew he had a child in his car."
That detail added another troubling dimension to an incident that had already become a political flashpoint, with Mamdani condemning ICE and renewing his demand to abolish it while federal officials defended the officers' actions.
For Mullin, the broader concern was the mayor's rhetoric toward federal law enforcement. While politicians can debate immigration policy, he argued, portraying ICE as a threat to the public while calling for its abolition risks encouraging hostility toward officers carrying out their duties.
New York City now finds itself confronting a familiar political question: If ICE is abolished, who will be responsible for removing criminal offenders who are subject to deportation?
Mamdani has made his position on the agency clear. The question of what replaces it, however, remains considerably less clear.
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| Oscar Belgal |
It was an inconvenient question for a mayor whose preferred solution to the agency’s existence appears to be making the agency cease to exist, leaving the practical details of enforcing immigration law for another administration to sort out.
The controversy followed an incident Thursday involving Oscar Belgal, who was shot by ICE officers after allegedly refusing to leave his vehicle and driving into two government vehicles, according to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Executive Associate Director Marcos Charles.
The incident, Charles explained, involved considerably more than an immigration officer knocking on a car window and asking an occupant to update his address.
"He refused lawful orders to exit his vehicle," Charles said. "He 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 said.
Mullin also addressed reports that a child was inside the vehicle during the confrontation. Authorities, he explained, were unaware of the child's presence at the time. Belgal, however, knew the child was there.
"Oscar knew he had a child in his car."
That detail added another troubling dimension to an incident that had already become a political flashpoint, with Mamdani condemning ICE and renewing his demand to abolish it while federal officials defended the officers' actions.
For Mullin, the broader concern was the mayor's rhetoric toward federal law enforcement. While politicians can debate immigration policy, he argued, portraying ICE as a threat to the public while calling for its abolition risks encouraging hostility toward officers carrying out their duties.
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| Markwayne Mullin |
New York City now finds itself confronting a familiar political question: If ICE is abolished, who will be responsible for removing criminal offenders who are subject to deportation?
Mamdani has made his position on the agency clear. The question of what replaces it, however, remains considerably less clear.
Dear readers, please take time to give a click on the ads on this page--it's one way to support my work and you don't need to purchase anything just to look. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee at any amount if you want to support me directly, but no pressure. And finally, consider subscribing if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and totally worth the cost.
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