A federal judge has temporarily barred the government from deporting Oscar Belgal, the 28-year-old Dominican national who was shot by an ICE officer during an arrest attempt in the Marble Hill neighborhood of New York City.
U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken ruled that Belgal, named in court papers as Oscar Bergal, cannot be removed from the country while his challenge to his detention is pending. The order also bars agents from moving him outside the Southern or Eastern Districts of New York or the District of New Jersey without court approval. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, and federal prosecutors must respond to his detention challenge by Oct. 19.
The Department of Homeland Security says officers were carrying out a targeted operation to arrest Belgal, who it says is in the country illegally and has ties to the Trinitarios gang. DHS says he refused lawful orders and drove his vehicle forward before an officer fired. Officials said agents did not know his 5-year-old son was in the back seat, and argued that Belgal knew and chose to put the boy at risk by trying to evade officers. The child was not hurt.
The NYPD says Belgal has a 2023 grand larceny conviction and prior arrests for assault, robbery and weapons possession. Court records show he was arrested in August 2025 on charges of selling cocaine and fentanyl and was on supervised release.
Belgal's lawyers say he needs surgery to remove a bullet from his neck. The Bronx district attorney's office is investigating the shooting.
Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement photo, January 28, 2025 (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons). ICE officers during a New York City enforcement operation; not from the Belgal case.
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