Candidate Demands ICE Abolition After Marble Hill Shooting

Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier called for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and urged New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to step down after an ICE agent shot and wounded Oscar Belgal in the Marble Hill neighborhood. The shooting on October 8 prompted protests, where Avila Chevalier said police shoved her to the ground. The NYPD said officers pushed her back to prevent a crowd from trampling a captain. Belgal, 28, was in a car with a five-year-old child when he was shot during a federal enforcement operation. The child was unharmed, and Belgal was taken to a hospital. The Department of Homeland Security said Belgal was undocumented and that agents believed he used his vehicle as a weapon after refusing orders to get out. The department’s account of the events leading to the shooting has not been independently established in the supplied reporting. The NYPD said it was not involved in the federal operation before the shooting and that officers arrived afterward to preserve evidence. At a news conference, Tisch referred to Belgal’s prior arrests.