SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Federal immigration agents shot a man in New York City earlier this week. Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old from the Dominican Republic, survived the shooting and is now in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement while the courts wrangle over what happens next. His 5-year-old son was in the back seat of the car during the shooting but was physically unharmed. Reporter Steve Kastenbaum joins us. Steve, thanks for being with us.
STEVE KASTENBAUM, BYLINE: My pleasure. Thank you.
SIMON: The mayor of New York and the governor have demanded that ICE release video footage from the body cameras that were worn by agents in the shooting, which has not happened. But New York police did release body cam footage. What does it show?
KASTENBAUM: Well, we see that they pulled up to a chaotic scene right after the shooting. We see an ICE agent wearing a yellow construction vest. He's holding a rifle. Belgal is on the ground in handcuffs. He's bleeding from the neck. People are yelling at the ICE agents. NYPD officers called for an ambulance to be rushed to the scene, but then they decided to put the shooting victim in their car, and then they raced to a nearby hospital.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #1: Come on. Come on. Come on. Watch the leg. Watch the leg. Watch the leg. Watch the legs. You got it? You got it? You got it? You got it?
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #2: Keep pressure. Keep pressure.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR DOOR CLOSING)
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #1: Yo, put pressure. Put pressure.
KASTENBAUM: We also got to see how this started. A second video came out. It was from a security camera that was on a building, and it captured the moment when ICE agents approached Belgal in his car, and he sped off.
SIMON: There was a hearing at federal court in Manhattan yesterday afternoon, and Belgal's attorneys argued for his immediate release. What came out of the hearing?
KASTENBAUM: Well, the judge issued an emergency order prohibiting immigration authorities from deporting Oscar Belgal while this issue is pending. Federal agents took him from the hospital on Thursday evening just a few hours after he was brought in. He still had a bullet fragment in his neck. The family and immigrant advocates thought that he was still in New York, but Attorney Howard (ph) Solis said they were surprised to learn at that hearing that he was actually taken to New Jersey and not to a medical facility.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
HAROLD SOLIS: Obviously, he's afraid. He's deeply concerned about his 5-year-old son. It was the first thing he asked me, is whether his son is OK.
KASTENBAUM: The judge ordered that Belgal has to be kept at a federal detention facility either in New York or New Jersey while this plays out in the court here.
SIMON: Leaders in New York were very quick to call for ICE to end its activities in the city and just leave New York. Homeland Security officials responded by saying New York's sanctuary policies make the city less safe. What have they been saying?
KASTENBAUM: Well, state law here prohibits police from aiding federal agents in enforcing immigration policy in any way. They're only allowed to help with law enforcement. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin spoke at a briefing in Washington and he said that this man had a criminal conviction, several arrests. They claimed he was associated with a gang, and they asked New York police to hold onto him.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARKWAYNE MULLIN: This individual is a threat to our community. As you heard, we had a detainer on him. He was on probation. The state of New York knew he was illegal, and they chose to release him back into the streets and into the community.
KASTENBAUM: And one of the reasons they wanted this man is because they said he may have information about a shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol agent that took place here last year.
SIMON: Steve, we saw ICE protests around the courthouse yesterday. What's ahead?
KASTENBAUM: Well, the judge has to make a decision on the petition to release the man, and local officials are conducting their own reviews here.
SIMON: Reporter Steve Kastenbaum in New York. Thanks so much.
KASTENBAUM: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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