Mamdani Calls ICE 'Rotten to Its Core' — Mullin Turns the Tables With One Brutal Question

Oct 09, 2026 11:09 AM
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Mamdani Calls ICE 'Rotten to Its Core' — Mullin Turns the Tables With One Brutal Question
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul – Democrats both – wasted precious little time expressing their self-righteous outrage after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot a man during an enforcement operation in New York City on Thursday.

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And on Friday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin turned that outrage right back on them.

“NYPD officers are some of the finest officers we have out there,” Mullin said at a news conference in Washington, D.C. “Just last week, one was stabbed seven times by illegals. One that we had a detainer on that New York released. Both had extensive criminal backgrounds.”

Then came the zinger. 

“Did the mayor of New York say anything about that?” Mullin asked. “Not a word was said. Not a word was said by the mayor. Not a word was said by the governor.”

He was, of course, referring to the Oct. 2 stabbing of off-duty NYPD Detective Jose Mercedes, who police say was slashed and stabbed during an attempted robbery in the Bronx.

As RedState previously reported, two Dominican nationals – who federal law enforcement officials say entered the country illegally during the Biden administration – have been accused in the attack on Mercedes. D’Angelo Caraballo, 25, and Sneider Mejia, 24, were later arrested in Massachusetts and now face multiple charges, including attempted murder.

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The Thursday shooting happened in Marble Hill when ICE agents attempted to arrest 28-year-old Oscar Belgal, an illegal with two prior arrests. 

According to New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch, surveillance video showed federal officers in plain clothes approaching Belgal’s SUV with their weapons drawn. The vehicle then moved forward and out of camera view, so the actual shooting was not captured.  

Police say an ICE agent fired seven rounds, striking Belgal in the neck. A five-year-old child inside the vehicle was not injured.

ICE, meanwhile, says Belgal had fled from agents at least once before, and they decided not to pursue him at the time. On Thursday, the agency says officers tried to box in his vehicle, but Belgal attempted to flee yet again and rammed their vehicles while doing so.

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Mamdani, meanwhile, referred to Belgal as a “New Yorker” and blasted ICE as “rotten to its core,” while once again calling for an end to ICE operations in the city.

That was clearly more than enough for Mullin, who accused the mayor of finding his voice awfully quickly when ICE was involved, but not when one of New York’s own detectives was nearly killed by illegal alien thugs.

For Mamdani, it seems, the outrage only comes when ICE is involved.

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