OPINION:
Pro-sanctuary politicians are victimizing Americans to aid illegal alien criminals.
The latest cause celebre of the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement crowd is Oscar Bergal, aka Belgal, an illegal immigrant and documented associate of the Trinitarios, a notorious Dominican street gang. Bergal was shot by an ICE officer on Oct. 8 after he allegedly refused to exit his vehicle, accelerated into two ICE vehicles and drove directly toward agents, with his 5-year-old son in the back seat.
Bergal was wounded in the neck during the confrontation.
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New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called Bergal a “New Yorker.” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said, “New Yorkers are outraged by the shooting, and immigrant communities are terrified.”
Federal officials say Mr. Bergal entered the country illegally around 2022 during the Biden administration and gravitated to New York — a sanctuary city in a sanctuary state — a rich hunting ground for alien predators. In a short period, he racked up a lengthy criminal record, including arrests on charges of robbery, assault, weapons possession, possession of stolen property, and the alleged sale of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.
He was allowed to plead down the robbery charge to fourth-degree grand larceny, receiving a sentence of one month in jail and five years of probation. That lighter sentence did not slow him down in the least.
Residents of Mr. Bergal’s Bronx apartment complex told reporters he frequently terrorized neighbors with a machete. Less than a week before the Oct. 8 shooting, two Dominican nationals were arrested for stabbing an off-duty NYPD detective in an attempted robbery. The Homeland Security Department said both had been arrested in New York on earlier charges and released before ICE could lodge detainers.
ICE reports that from Jan. 20, 2025, to Oct. 8, 2026, New York refused to honor 16,070 ICE detainers covering 52,503 criminal charges and convictions, including homicides, kidnappings, sexual offenses, robberies, weapons offenses and drug dealing.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, “While sanctuary politicians continue to release dangerous criminals onto their streets, our brave law enforcement officers will continue to risk their lives to arrest these criminals and make America safe again.” Instead of aiding ICE in its mission, Democrats attack the men and women charged with protecting citizens.
Just to be clear, enforcing our immigration laws is the exclusive province of the federal government. Cities and states cannot legitimately maintain that federal immigration law does not apply within their jurisdictions.
By attempting to impede ICE operations, they are victimizing their citizens for political gain.
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