FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2026
Contact: Liam Horan, [email protected] | 646-939-1263
NEW YORK, NY – Today, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal convened the Manhattan Borough Board, on which all 12 Manhattan Community Board Chairs are voting members, to pass a resolution condemning the recent ICE shooting of Oscar Belgal in Marble Hill in the presence of his five-year-old child and calling for immediate action to reign in ICE’s actions against immigrant New Yorkers.
In the resolution, the Manhattan Borough Board called for the federal government to cease all ICE operations in New York City, for an independent investigation into the shooting, including the release of all video footage and identification of the officer(s) involved, for ICE to release Oscar Belgal from its custody, and for him to be provided with immediate medical attention.
The resolution also urged owners of private commercial property in Manhattan to conduct an audit of whether non-public premises have been wrongfully used by ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or other federal law enforcement entities and to prevent any such continued use to the extent permissible under the law. ICE has been known to use private parking lots, garages, and other similar facilities as staging grounds for their enforcement operations.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said: “Today, Manhattan stood united to unanimously declare that ICE has no place in our neighborhoods, to condemn ICE’s heinous shooting of an immigrant New Yorker, and to demand that ICE immediately release Oscar Belgal from its custody and ensure he is provided with immediate medical attention. Further, the Manhattan Borough Board requested that an independent investigation of this incident be conducted. Finally, today’s resolution puts Manhattan’s commercial property owners on notice: we will not stand idly by while ICE utilizes private facilities to enact its reign of terror over our borough.
“Private owners can and must exercise their property rights to the fullest extent under the law such that they do not advertently or inadvertently cooperate with ICE or otherwise enable enforcement actions. I thank the Manhattan Borough Board for their unanimous action, and commit to working together in partnership to continue standing up for immigrant New Yorkers across Manhattan.”
Further Context
ICE’s use of private property for immigration operations can happen with or without the knowledge of the owners of the subject premises. However, private property owners are under no legal obligation to cooperate with enforcement actions by granting access to their property and, in fact, may deny access to any non-public areas to officers who do not have a judicial warrant authorizing such access. The Manhattan Borough Board strongly urged private commercial property owners to exercise this right to protect all New Yorkers.
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