Oscar Belgal, the illegal immigrant shot by ICE in New York while his 5-year-old was in the back of his vehicle, is receiving sufficient medical care and does not need immediate release from detention, a federal judge has ruled.
The ruling Friday by Judge Hector Gonzalez, a Biden appointee, undercuts claims of Belgal’s lawyers and supporters that he was being denied care.
In fact, Judge Gonzalez said, Belgal “seemed surprised” to be undergoing yet another medical exam earlier Friday.
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He is being given necessary prescriptions and wound care after a bullet grazed his neck. He has also undergone CT scans of his head and back, and doctors concluded he didn’t need surgery or any “specialized medical care” while in detention, the judge said, quoting from doctors’ reports.
“Accordingly, Petitioner has failed to demonstrate that his immediate release is necessary,” the judge said.
Belgal still has other claims pending, including that his initial arrest was illegal. The judge said he’ll rule on those after more briefing next week.
Belgal became a rallying point for anti-ICE activists after the Oct. 8 shooting in New York City.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani used the shooting to demand U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cease operations in his city.
Activists also decried his detention and supposed denial of medical care.
The judge’s ruling undercuts those claims.
Homeland Security says Belgal is being held because of a past criminal record, which includes armed robbery and grand larceny.
Belgal argued he was arrested without an immigration warrant.
The Justice Department presented the judge with two warrants, one from an earlier September attempt to arrest him, when authorities said he evaded, and one from the Oct. 8 arrest, where DHS says he resisted and turned his vehicle to aim it at officers.
That prompted the shooting. DHS said Belgal was grazed in the neck by a bullet or fragment.
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