09 October,2026 10:44 AM IST | New York | mid-day online correspondent
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani. Pic/AFP
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has demanded an end to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the city after an agent shot and wounded a man in Marble Hill, triggering protests outside a hospital where the injured man was being treated.
In a post on X on Thursday, Mamdani said preliminary reports indicated that ICE agents had surrounded a man and a five-year-old child inside a car before firing multiple rounds. 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 neighborhood. 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 neighborhoods. 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."
According to the New York Post, around 300 anti-ICE protesters gathered outside NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital on Thursday night. Demonstrators demanded the removal of federal immigration agents from city streets.
Protesters 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 newspaper.
The report said NYPD officers used barricades to control the gathering. Some demonstrators pushed against a barrier, triggering a brief struggle during which at least one protester was arrested.
The injured man, a 28-year-old Dominican Republic national, was receiving hospital treatment after being shot in the neck, the New York Post reported. Authorities said the shooting occurred during what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described as "a targeted enforcement operation."
ICE said officers were attempting to arrest a Dominican national with a prior grand larceny conviction and multiple previous arrests. The agency also alleged that he had links to the Trinitarios gang.
"During the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon and the criminal illegal alien was injured," ICE said, 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 criticised sanctuary policies, arguing that the release of individuals it considers dangerous creates risks for officers and the public.
"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.
(With inputs from ANI)
