- Judge J. Paul Oetken temporarily blocked Belgal’s deportation while he considers a challenge to his detention.
- The order bars removal and limits transfers outside three nearby federal districts without court approval.
- Belgal’s lawyers allege he was arrested without a warrant; authorities say he was shot during an attempted arrest in Manhattan.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the deportation of Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national shot by ICE agents during an attempted arrest in Manhattan. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken issued the order after Belgal’s attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention.
The order bars the government from removing Belgal from the United States. It also prohibits transferring him outside the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York or the District of New Jersey without court approval.
The restriction stays in effect “unless and until it is vacated or modified by the judge.” Oetken issued it to preserve the court’s jurisdiction while he considers the detention challenge.
Belgal’s attorneys allege that ICE arrested him without a warrant and had not begun formal removal proceedings by issuing a notice to appear. They also say the agency moved him out of New York after the shooting and before they filed the emergency petition.
Belgal was taken from Manhattan to a New Jersey facility after the shooting
ICE agents attempted to arrest Belgal at about 4 p.m. Thursday, October 8, 2026, in Manhattan’s Marble Hill neighborhood. The Department of Homeland Security described the operation as a “targeted enforcement operation.”
Authorities said Belgal was in a vehicle with his five-year-old child and was shot after allegedly failing to follow officers’ orders. The bullet struck his neck.
Belgal was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital and discharged at 9:58 p.m. ICE then transported him across the George Washington Bridge to Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey. He arrived at 10:43 p.m. and was later booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
DHS executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations Marcos Charles said officers tried to arrest Belgal after using their vehicles to block him. The sequence of transfers preceded the emergency court filing, according to Belgal’s lawyers.
The pending drug case remains part of Belgal’s record
Authorities identified Belgal as having an ICE detainer and a prior criminal record. Court documents and prosecutors say he was arrested twice during the previous three years.
He was on supervised release in a pending case involving allegations that he sold fentanyl, heroin and cocaine to an undercover narcotics detective. The allegations are part of that case, not a finding in the detention challenge.
Federal authorities, including the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, are investigating the shooting. Officers were reportedly wearing activated body cameras.
