Follow-Up: New York Man Shot by ICE Appears Before Immigration Judge by Video; Lawyers Say He Is Held in Solitary and Still Needs Surgery to Remove Bullet in Neck
New York — Oscar Belgal, the 28-year-old man shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers while in his car, made his first appearance before an immigration judge on Thursday, October 15, according to the Associated Press. He appeared remotely by video from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where his lawyers say he is being held in solitary confinement. The hearing was brief and Belgal barely spoke; his injury was not apparent on the video feed, but his lawyers say he still needs surgery to remove a bullet lodged in the back of his neck.
Karene Brown, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, told Immigration Judge Dara Reid that Belgal has been on 24-hour lockdown at the Brooklyn facility with no access to a phone to speak with his family. She said she has asked ICE to move him out of solitary confinement, but the request has so far not been honored. Reid said she has no say in where he is placed within the facility. Belgal tried to say something to the judge about his living conditions, but his lawyer advised him against it and cut him off. According to the Associated Press, the same jail is also holding former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Belgal's next immigration court hearing is scheduled for October 29, according to the Associated Press. His lawyers have also filed a petition in federal court seeking his release.
Background: On October 8, ICE officers confronted Belgal while he was looking for a parking spot after picking up his 5-year-old son from school; the boy was in the back seat. In a court filing on Wednesday, October 14, his lawyers said an officer ran up to the car, smashed one of its windows and fired several shots into the vehicle as Belgal tried to drive away, and that the officers never identified themselves and wore masks and civilian clothes. One bullet struck Belgal in the neck. The filing also said the bullet remains lodged in his neck, that the left side of his face is numb and his hearing in his left ear is impaired, and that he has been given only ibuprofen for the pain.
Department of Homeland Security officials maintain a different account: they say the officers believed their lives were in danger and opened fire only after Belgal smashed his car into two government vehicles and accelerated toward them. New York City police security camera footage released last week shows part of the encounter but does not conclusively show how the shooting happened. The Associated Press report on Thursday's hearing carried no new public response from the government side regarding the hearing itself.
On October 14, U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzalez temporarily barred the government from deporting Belgal or transferring him outside the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York or the District of New Jersey, and asked the government to explain why it believes Belgal warrants mandatory detention; a different federal judge issued a similar block last week. Belgal's attorneys contend ICE arrested him without a warrant. Belgal is a native of the Dominican Republic.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：布鲁克林大都会拘留中心（Metropolitan Detention Center）外景——贝尔加尔正被关押于此，并自该设施以视频连线出庭。Kidfly182 摄，CC BY 4.0（Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, where Belgal is detained and from which he appeared by video. By Kidfly182, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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