“Regardless of whether or not someone has a criminal history, it is not lawful, it is not okay, to shoot a father in the afternoon with his son in the backseat. That is not how we resolve legal disputes in this country. We resolve them in buildings like these, in courtrooms.”

— Harold Solis, a lawyer with Make the Road New York

On Sunday evening, Counsel representing 28-year-old Oscar Belgal of the Dominican Republic, who was shot by ICE in Marble Hill in the Bronx while his 5-year-old son was in the car, issued a Press Release to the media with an update on Oscar’s physical condition and location.

Released body camera video shows Oscar positioned in a sitting position after he was shot and handcuffed. NYPD arrived to the scene and saw that he was shot. They lifted him from the ground to stuff him into their police cruiser to bring him to the ER. “The officers were at the scene for about a minute before deciding to carry Belgal to their patrol car,” ABC7NY reported, “and take him to the nearest hospital. They arrived at the emergency room 90 seconds later.”

ABC7NY reported that Oscar was treated at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where he was “discharged at 9:58pm and taken by ICE over the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey, arriving at Delaney Hall in Newark at 10:43pm,” .

In their joint statement as counsel for Oscar, The Legal Aid Society and Make the Road New York stated that Oscar has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. “He is currently in solitary confinement, a bullet remains lodged in his neck, the left side of his face is numb, and he can barely hear out of his left ear. Doctors have told him he urgently needs surgery, but that the procedure was too dangerous to perform Thursday evening without a specialized surgeon present. Although he was instructed to return to the hospital this week, he has been left in the dark about whether that surgery will even happen. He is also suffering from a shoulder wound caused by shattered glass during the incident.”

Oscar’s Counsel stated that in addition to being in solitary confinement, he lacks access to food, and is suffering with inadequate medical care despite a bullet remaining lodged in his neck during his urgent need for surgery. His Counsel says “he says he has not eaten a single meal since Thursday and has been told that the only water available to him comes from a bathroom sink.”

The Legal Aid Society and Make the Road New York stated that the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn is “a facility federal judges have described as ‘barbaric’ and ‘inhumane,’ where officers have been characterized as ‘contemptuous of human life and dignity. All the while, a bullet remains lodged in his neck.”

According to ABC7NY, ICE was pursuing Oscar. After he was shot and in ICE custody, “immigration advocates filed a petition to block his deportation, which a federal judge approved.”

During a press conference, Harold Solis, a lawyer with Make the Road New York, stated: "Regardless of whether or not someone has a criminal history, it is not lawful, it is not okay, to shoot a father in the afternoon with his son in the backseat. That is not how we resolve legal disputes in this country. We resolve them in buildings like these, in courtrooms."

The Legal Aid Society and Make the Road New York exclaimed: “The deliberate indifference Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showed toward Mr. Belgal when he was shot on Thursday, and the treatment he has endured in detention since, are further examples of the cruelty and disregard for basic human dignity that have long defined this agency. We will continue to fight for Mr. Belgal’s immediate release from detention and to ensure that he receives the medical care, due process, and basic human dignity to which he is entitled under the law.”

About Each Counsel

Make the Road New York (MRNY) builds the power of immigrant and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services. They have 30,000+ members and operate five community centers in Bushwick, Brooklyn; Jackson Heights, Queens; Port Richmond, Staten Island; Brentwood, Long Island; and White Plains, Westchester County.

The Legal Aid Society is a nonprofit law firm that exists for one simple yet powerful reason: to ensure that New Yorkers are not denied their right to equal justice because of poverty. For 150 years, we have protected, defended, and advocated for those who have struggled in silence for far too long. Every day, in every borough, The Legal Aid Society changes the lives of the people we serve and helps improve our communities.

Local Beacon Access To Delivering Free Food To Delaney Hall In Newark

Angry Asian Womxn on IG is an outspoken local in Beacon who has been organizing food access for anyone in need at Delaney Hall. They collect food given by donation and distribute it during Family Visitation on Sundays. “We have a pop up tent next to the Family Support tent and put the food out on folding tables for families to pick out what they’d like,” Angry Asian Womxn told A Little Beacon Blog. Food4NJ also gives each family a grocery gift card.

“If anyone in Beacon wants to organize a donation box, they can get in touch with me beforehand about it.” People can reach Angry Asian Womxn on Instagram.