Anti-ICE protest on Fifth Avenue following shooting of Oscar Belgal

Chants to end U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in New York City echoed through the canyon of Fifth Avenue Saturday afternoon, continuing a heartbeat of civil unrest that has amplified after a federal immigration agent shot and wounded a 28-year-old Dominican man on the edge of Manhattan and the Bronx.

The protest, which began at Herald Square and ended at Union Square Park, drew more than 100 people holding signs aimed at ICE. The rally came a day after thousands of anti-ICE demonstrators gathered at Foley Square to protest the agency's tactics.

"It's been boiling for a while," said David Chung, an organizer of Saturday's rally. "We've seen ICE violence happen all over the country."

Federal agents shot Oscar Belgal, 28, on Thursday when the agency said he "weaponized" his vehicle and accelerated into government cars when they attempted to apprehend him, ICE Executive Associate Director Marcos Charles said in a statement Friday.

Belgal's 5-year-old son was in the car. The NYPD released bodycam footage the following day, showing its officers arriving on scene and carrying Belgal into a police vehicle before bringing him to a hospital. City and state officials have widely condemned the shooting.  

At a campaign event for gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman Friday, President Donald Trump said the ICE agents involved in the shooting were "heroes" and called Belgal a "very dangerous man."

ICE has said Belgal has a criminal history and was in the country illegally.

Protesters at Saturday's rally wielded signs calling for the abolishment of ICE and expressed anger at the federal government's immigration enforcement. The NYPD escorted the protesters along their route south from midtown Manhattan. 

"They're shooting people, they're killing people," said Jay W. Walker, of Manhattan. "They're not making anybody safer."

Speakers at the start of the rally called on local and state officials to forcefully limit the freedom ICE has to operate in New York. They also said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch should be fired, in part for detailing Belgal's local criminal history following the shooting.

A judge has blocked Belgal's deportation, which is facing a legal challenge.

With her 4-year-old daughter on her back as she marched down Fifth Avenue, Susanna Blankley, of Harlem, said there's "no reason for ICE in our city."

"I want to take to the streets and build the power we need to keep all of us safe," she said.

The shooting on the border of Manhattan and the Bronx was the latest violent episode involving ICE agents amid Trump's souped-up deportation crackdown. Federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Tanya Núñez, a speaker at the event and a part of the activist group The People's Forum, directed frustration at the continued presence of federal immigration officers in New York City as issues like affordability continue to afflict Americans. 

"What is it going to take to make a difference? Are we going to sit back and accept this?" she shouted into a microphone.

"No," the crowd replied. 

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ

Joseph Ostapiuk covers the Town of Oyster Bay and the city of Glen Cove. He joined Newsday in 2023 after spending more than six years at the Staten Island Advance.