Judge Blocks Deportation Of Oscar Belgal After ICE Shooting

On October 9, 2026, U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken ordered that Oscar Belgal, the 28-year-old Dominican national shot in the neck by an ICE agent in New York City’s Marble Hill neighborhood the day before, may not be removed from the United States or transferred out of the region while his federal habeas corpus petition is pending. Court papers spell his surname “Bergal.” The NYPD and most news outlets use “Belgal.”

The order is narrow. It does not decide whether the shooting was lawful, whether ICE had authority to arrest him, or whether he must be released. Those are separate questions that no court has answered.

Quick Facts: Bergal v. Genalo and the Marble Hill ICE Shooting

Detail	What is known (as of October 10, 2026)
Person	Oscar Belgal (spelled Oscar Bergal in court filings), 28, Dominican national
Shooting	October 8, 2026, about 4 p.m., near 2 Marble Hill Avenue, Marble Hill, New York
Injury	Struck once in the neck below the left ear; at least seven rounds fired by one ICE agent, per NYPD
Child present	A 5-year-old boy believed to be his son was in the back seat and was not physically hurt
Federal case	Bergal v. Genalo, No. 1:26-cv-08928 (S.D.N.Y.)
Type of case	Petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (alien detainee)
Respondents	Kenneth Genalo (ICE field office director), DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Todd Blanche, listed on the docket as Acting U.S. Attorney General
Judges	J. Paul Oetken (order barring removal or transfer); John P. Cronan (assigned judge); Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave (designated for referred matters)
Where he is held	Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Brooklyn, after being moved there from ICE custody in Newark, New Jersey
Settlement or claim form	None. This is an individual case, not a class action

What Happened in the Marble Hill ICE Shooting on October 8, 2026?

The NYPD’s preliminary account

At a press conference that evening, NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said her information was preliminary and subject to change. Her account:

The NYPD received two 911 calls at 4:04 p.m. reporting a person shot near 2 Marble Hill Avenue. A federal agent also called 911 asking for the Fire Department and then the NYPD.
Federal agents were conducting a targeted enforcement operation to take Belgal into immigration custody. He was in a gray Honda CR-V with a 5-year-old boy.
NYPD Argus cameras recorded him backing into a parking spot. A plainclothes federal officer approached the driver’s window with a gun drawn, and a second approached near the driver’s side headlight. The vehicle then moved forward and left camera view. The cameras did not capture the gunfire.

Evidence at the scene showed at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds. Investigators recovered at least seven shell casings. The CR-V had damage to the front windshield and a shattered back window, and an ICE sedan had a damaged left front panel.
NYPD officers responding to an unrelated call nearby found several men in construction-style vests and face masks, at least one carrying a long gun, and Belgal handcuffed on the ground. They put him in an NYPD vehicle and took him to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where he arrived in stable condition.
The NYPD said it had no role in the federal operation before the shooting. Tisch said federal agents had taken over the investigation.

ABC News reported that surveillance footage shows Belgal reversing out of the parking spot as one of the armed men punches the driver’s window and breaks the glass.

The federal government’s account

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says ICE was carrying out a targeted operation to arrest Belgal and that agents used their vehicles to block his car. Marcos Charles, DHS’s executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations, said Belgal had an ICE detainer. DHS says Belgal refused lawful orders to get out of the vehicle and “rammed” agents’ vehicles, and that the agent fired because agents believed their lives were in danger. Secretary Mullin has defended the agents and criticized sanctuary policies.

What Mayor Zohran Mamdani said

Mayor Mamdani said the agents wore construction vests and masks that hid their faces, so there was no reasonable way to tell they were ICE. He said he spent two hours on the phone with President Trump and Secretary Mullin trying to negotiate Belgal’s release, without success, and that ICE then put Belgal in an unmarked vehicle and took him away. The mayor’s account is a political statement, not a finding of fact.

Belgal’s record

According to Commissioner Tisch, Belgal has two prior arrests in New York City: a 2023 robbery arrest in which he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny and received five years’ probation, and a 2025 arrest for criminal sale of a controlled substance that is still pending. A pending charge is an allegation, not a conviction.

What Did the Court Order in Bergal v. Genalo?

The docket from the Southern District of New York shows this sequence:

Date	Docket entry
October 8, 2026	Petition for habeas corpus filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (ECF 1); pro bono counsel Paige Austin appears (ECF 3). Some news outlets reported the filing on Friday, October 9.
October 9, 2026	Emergency motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed (ECF 4)
October 9, 2026	Judge Oetken signs an order prohibiting removal or transfer pending further order (ECF 5)
October 9, 2026	Judge Cronan orders the government to respond by 1:00 p.m. and sets a 3:30 p.m. conference in Courtroom 14C of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse, to discuss Belgal’s current location, his location when the petition was filed, and any circumstances justifying a TRO (ECF 6)
October 9, 2026	The government files a letter responding to the court’s order (ECF 8)
October 9, 2026	Two further orders are entered, including an “Order on Motion for TRO” (ECF 9 and ECF 10)

According to news reports, Judge Oetken’s two-page order says Belgal cannot be removed from the United States without a court order while the petition is pending, and that he may not be transferred outside New York and New Jersey. Fox News reported that at Friday’s hearing, Judge Cronan dismissed the separate TRO application because federal prosecutors did not challenge Judge Oetken’s order. I could not read the text of ECF 9 and ECF 10, so check those orders on the docket before relying on that detail.

Does the order release Oscar Belgal from ICE custody?

No. The order restricts removal and transfer. It does not release him. As of the reporting reviewed, he was held at MDC Brooklyn.

Does the order decide whether the shooting was legal?

No. A habeas petition challenges custody. It is not a ruling on the use of force, and it does not award damages or decide criminal responsibility.

Judge Blocks Deportation of Oscar Belgal After ICE Shooting in Marble Hill, The Habeas Case, the Court Orders and What Happens Next

What Does Belgal’s Habeas Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 Argue?

Habeas corpus asks a court to decide whether a person is being held lawfully. Belgal’s lawyers filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, the federal statute for people held “in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws … of the United States” (§ 2241(c)(3)). CNN reported the petition says he was arrested “without a valid warrant and without any consideration of his individual circumstances.” Harold Solis and Paige Austin are listed as his counsel, and Make the Road New York has been reported as involved.

Why the judges asked about his location: federal habeas jurisdiction is tied to where a petitioner is held. Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426 (2004), generally ties a habeas case to the district of confinement, while Ex parte Endo, 323 U.S. 283 (1944), holds that a court that properly acquires jurisdiction when a petition is filed is not defeated by a later transfer. That is why the order against transfer matters. Belgal was reportedly first held in Newark, New Jersey, then moved to Brooklyn.

Can ICE Arrest Someone Without a Judicial Warrant Under 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2)?

Sometimes. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2), an immigration officer may arrest without a warrant if the officer has reason to believe the person is in the United States in violation of immigration law and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(c)(2) sets out arrest standards, and 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(c)(2)(iii) requires an officer making an arrest to identify themselves and state the purpose of the arrest as soon as practical and safe. Arrests on an administrative warrant fall under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), and a detainer is governed by 8 C.F.R. § 287.7.

The public record so far does not show which authority ICE relied on here, or whether an administrative warrant existed. DHS said Belgal had a detainer. A detainer is a request, not a judicial warrant. Those questions will be answered, if at all, in the government’s filings.

Our existing guides explain these limits: Yes, ICE Is Law Enforcement—But Their Authority Has Limits You Need to Know.

Was the Marble Hill Shooting Legal? How Courts Judge Federal Officers’ Use of Force

Whether the shooting was justified depends on facts that are still disputed. The framework is:

Fourth Amendment. Force used in an arrest is judged for objective reasonableness from the perspective of a reasonable officer at the scene, under Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989). Deadly force against a fleeing person is limited by Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985), and the Supreme Court addressed a driver and a vehicle in Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (2007).
Agency rules. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(a) governs when immigration officers may use deadly force and limits it to situations involving an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury, and DHS has its own use-of-force policy.
Facts a court would weigh. What the agents saw and heard, whether the car moved toward or away from them, whether anyone was in its path, where each round was fired, the child in the back seat, and what the NYPD footage, ABC’s surveillance video, body-worn camera video and the ballistic evidence show.

The accounts conflict, and no investigation has reported a finding. The federal government has taken over the investigation, according to the NYPD.

Could the ICE agent face criminal charges or a civil lawsuit?

Possibly, but nothing is certain.

Criminal. A prosecutor would have to prove the elements of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt. A state prosecution of a federal officer for on-duty conduct raises Supremacy Clause immunity, which dates to In re Neagle, 135 U.S. 1 (1890), and the officer could try to move the case to federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 1442.
Civil. A claim for damages against the United States would run through the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b) and 2671-2680, which requires presenting an administrative claim first (28 U.S.C. § 2675) and has its own deadline (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)). A claim against an individual officer under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), is difficult after Egbert v. Boule, 596 U.S. 482 (2022), which sharply limited new Bivens claims.

For more, read Can You Sue ICE for Wrongful Arrest? Legal Grounds And Realistic Outcomes.

What Powers Do the Federal Government and New York Have in the Belgal Case?

Federal government. Congress sets immigration law, and DHS and ICE enforce it under the Immigration and Nationality Act, including arrest, detention and removal provisions such as 8 U.S.C. §§ 1226, 1231 and 1357. Federal officers must still follow the Constitution, statutes and court orders. The government cannot ignore a federal court order that bars removal or transfer.

New York State and New York City. Officials can investigate within their jurisdiction, preserve evidence, give medical care, and decide how their own agencies cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. They cannot take custody of a person held by federal authorities or cancel federal immigration law. Whether state or local prosecutors could charge a federal officer raises the Supremacy Clause and federal-officer immunity issues discussed above.

What Happens Next in the Belgal Habeas Case?

The government’s response. It will explain the legal basis for the arrest and detention and may raise jurisdictional or venue arguments.
Further orders from Judge Cronan. The case is assigned to him. He may address the removal and transfer limits, jurisdiction and the habeas petition itself.
A ruling on custody. The court could grant relief, deny the petition or order more proceedings. The temporary bar on removal does not predict the result.
The shooting investigation. It proceeds separately. Any findings or charges would be new developments.
The immigration case. The order does not end removal proceedings or give Belgal lasting status.

Check the docket before relying on this status, because this case is moving quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions About Oscar Belgal’s Deportation Block and the ICE Shooting

Did a judge block Oscar Belgal’s deportation?

Yes. On October 9, 2026, Judge J. Paul Oetken ordered that Belgal may not be removed or transferred pending further order in Bergal v. Genalo, No. 1:26-cv-08928. It is a temporary order.

Is Oscar Belgal’s name Belgal or Bergal?

Both appear. The NYPD and many outlets use Belgal. The court filing and docket use Bergal. News reports differ on which is correct.

Was Oscar Belgal released from ICE custody?

No. As of the reports reviewed, he is held at MDC Brooklyn after being moved from Newark, New Jersey.

Why did ICE shoot Oscar Belgal, according to DHS?

DHS says agents were making a targeted arrest, that he refused lawful orders and rammed agents’ vehicles, and that the agent fired because agents feared for their lives. The NYPD and city officials describe events differently, and the investigation is not complete.

Does the court order mean the ICE shooting was unlawful?

No. The order concerns removal and transfer during a habeas case. It makes no finding on the shooting.

Does the order give Oscar Belgal permanent permission to stay in the United States?

No. It bars removal while the habeas petition is pending. His immigration case is separate.

Can New York prosecute the ICE agent who shot Oscar Belgal?

State authorities can look into possible state-law offenses, but charging a federal officer for on-duty conduct raises federal immunity and removal issues, including In re Neagle and 28 U.S.C. § 1442.

Can Oscar Belgal sue the federal government over the shooting?

He may have claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act or, less likely, Bivens. Both face significant legal hurdles, and no lawsuit for damages was reported as of October 10, 2026.

Is there a class action or claim form for the Marble Hill shooting?

None has been announced. The case is an individual habeas petition.

Official Sources and Court Records

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. AllAboutLawyer.com is not a law firm. Facts in this case are disputed and developing, and the court has made no finding on the shooting. Consult a licensed attorney about any specific situation.

Researched and written by Israr Ahmad, legal content researcher and founder of AllAboutLawyer.com. All facts verified against the federal court docket for Bergal v. Genalo, No. 1:26-cv-08928 (S.D.N.Y.), the NYC Mayor’s Office press conference transcript, and the news reports cited, as of October 10, 2026. Last Updated: October 10, 2026.

About the Author

Israr Ahmad is a legal content researcher with 4+ years of experience covering class action settlements and consumer rights cases. He has researched and published coverage of 2,500+ settlements using verified court records, settlement administrator filings, and government sources. Learn more about Israr.

Judge Blocks Deportation of Oscar Belgal After ICE Shooting in Marble Hill, The Habeas Case, the Court Orders and What Happens Next