Mayor Zohran Mamdani, along with other New York Democrats, asked the owners and operators of parking garages and lots in New York City to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using their private property as “staging areas” for operations.
The request was made in a letter on Friday, over one week after an ICE officer shot a 28-year-old Dominican immigrant in Manhattan’s Marble Hill neighborhood. A privately owned parking lot near the scene of the shooting was being used by ICE, which had reportedly concerned local residents and elected officials for months.
Mamdani said this trend “is not an isolated case,” as ICE has been using other private parking facilities across New York City. The mayor wants to put an end to the practice.
“Each such use, whether part of a formal or informal arrangement or no arrangement at all, gives ICE a launching point for operations that have terrified and terrorized local communities, and risks placing your property, your employees, and your customers at the center of that,” the letter says.
“In solidarity with immigrant New Yorkers and in our shared commitment to the City we love,” it adds, “we ask that you do not rent, lend, or otherwise make your property available to ICE as a staging area for its enforcement operations.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and dozens of state and local officials joined Mamdani in signing the letter sent to the parking garage and lot owners.
“Make it known to ICE that it is not authorized to use your garages and lots,” they wrote. “Some of you have already taken this step. On Morton Street in downtown Manhattan, an operator removed ICE vehicles from a garage after neighbors spoke up. We are grateful for this action and invite every owner to follow this courageous example.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), another one of the signatories, criticized ICE for using parking lots as staging areas. However, she also blamed Target for letting the agency use its properties as staging grounds. A Target spokesperson previously told the Washington Examiner that the company does not have any cooperative agreement with ICE or any other federal immigration agency.
After the nonfatal shooting last Thursday, Mamdani and other New York Democrats renewed their criticisms of the Trump administration’s ICE operations. At one point, the socialist mayor compared the plainclothes immigration officer who shot Oscar Belgal, 28, in the neck to a “mass shooter.”
The Department of Homeland Security, led by Markwayne Mullin, defended the ICE officer’s actions and slammed Mamdani for his rhetoric. Regarding the letter, the department dismissed its contents.
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“Mayor Mamdani should be grateful to our brave law enforcement officers for cleaning up the streets of NYC since he won’t,” a DHS spokesperson said, according to the Associated Press. “Luckily, no terminated parking will stop ICE from deporting criminal illegal aliens to make New York safe again.”
Belgal survived the shooting and was treated at a hospital for his wound. He remains in federal custody, but advocates are calling for his immediate release and additional medical care.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
