DHS Disputes NYC Mayor's Account of ICE Shooting, Cites Nearly 15,000 Unhonored Detainers

DHS issued a statement responding to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's comments on an October 8 incident in which an ICE officer discharged a weapon during an attempted arrest in the Bronx. DHS disputed several of the mayor's claims and said New York has failed to honor nearly 15,000 ICE detainers since January 2025.

Key points

• ICE officers attempted to arrest Oscar Bengal, a Dominican national with a prior criminal record, in the Bronx on October 8; DHS says he drove his vehicle at officers, who then fired their weapons.
• Bengal was treated for a neck injury, taken into custody, and placed in a detention facility outside New York State; the incident remains under investigation by FBI and HSI.
• DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE officials rejected Mayor Mamdani's description of the incident and of ICE operations in New York City as false.
• DHS states that from January 20, 2025 to September 14, 2026, New York did not honor 14,916 ICE detainers, which it links to 47,750 associated criminal charges or convictions.
• DHS referenced a New York law restricting local police cooperation with ICE, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul and effective August 25, 2026, as well as several individual criminal cases it attributes to sanctuary policies.

Who is affected

The statement concerns New York State and City officials, ICE operations, local law enforcement cooperation policies, and noncitizens with criminal records in New York.

What to do