'Abolish ICE,' Say Potential 2028 Candidates AOC and Khanna After Latest Shooting in NYC
"No child should have to sit and watch while masked officers open fire on his father."
Two top progressive Democratic leaders were among those demanding an end on Friday to the 23-year-old federal agency that has provoked outrage and fear across US communities over the past 21 months under Trump administration—most recently on Thursday night, when a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fired seven shots into a car being driven by an immigrant in New York City, while his 5-year-old son sat in the back seat.
"ICE’s already unwelcome presence in our city has been growing more escalatory and dangerous by the day. Today’s shooting is a grave development that requires a swift and immediate response to protect the safety of all New Yorkers," said US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), whose district lies near Marble Hill, the site of the shooting of 28-year-old Oscar Belgal.
Belgal was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for injuries to his neck before ICE agents took him away in an unmarked vehicle. His son was physically unharmed and was in the care of relatives on Friday, but a number of Democratic officials, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, condemned the agency for leaving the child "traumatized and terrified."
"ICE is a rogue, lawless paramilitary and surveillance agency," said Ocasio-Cortez, who has been named as a potential 2028 presidential candidate or a contender for US Senate in New York, where Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is up for reelection in 2028.
"It does not belong in New York City and it should not exist in the United States of America," said Ocasio-Cortez. "Abolish ICE.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), another potential candidate for president in 2028, joined the congresswoman in calling for ICE to be abolished—a demand once dismissed as a fringe viewpoint, but now shared by about half the country, including 77% of Democratic voters and 52% of independents.
Khanna said that Democrats in Congress must take action after the midterm elections, which are widely expected to put them in control of at least one if not both chambers of Congress.
"No child should have to sit and watch while masked officers open fire on his father," said Khanna. "House Democrats have a duty when we take the majority. Get ICE agents off our streets. Keep them away from our children. Abolish ICE."
No child should have to sit and watch while masked officers open fire on his father. House Democrats have a duty when we take the majority.Get ICE agents off our streets. Keep them away from our children.Abolish ICE. https://t.co/XW1mBz00dV
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) October 9, 2026
A federal judge in New York City ordered ICE not to deport Belgal, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, while the court considers an emergency petition requesting his release from detention.
Agents approached Belgal when he was parked in front of a fire hydrant on West 225th Street. The officers were dressed in construction vests and had face masks on, and one was wielding a long gun on the busy street where children were walking home from school.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) noted that ICE's use of "disguises and masks" was not an isolated incident in Marble Hill, with some posing "as electricians in Phoenix last month to arrest a man in his own home."
Belgal was reportedly pulling away when an officer shot at him. It is against Department of Homeland Security policy to shoot into a moving vehicle, with limited exceptions.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) called on President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin to "hold rogue ICE agents accountable."
"What type of president and country not only allows, but causes, our children to be traumatized?" said Pressley. "Abolish ICE NOW."
