Double Standard? DHS Slams NYC Leaders

ICE badges on an American flag background — Photo: Mehaniq / Shutterstock

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused New York leaders of a double standard after an ICE shooting and a separate stabbing of an off-duty detective, sharpening the fight over sanctuary policies and public safety.

Story Highlights

Mullin said sanctuary policies let two stabbing suspects avoid removal, citing prior arrests.
New York officials demanded answers and more video after an ICE agent shot Oscar Belgal.
Body-camera footage from city police shows the aftermath but not the shooting itself.
Records do not show every public statement about the detective case, limiting firm comparisons.

What sparked the clash between Washington and New York City

On October 6, 2026, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said New York’s “sanctuary politicians” failed to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allowing two suspects in the stabbing of off-duty Detective Jose Mercedes to remain free despite prior arrests. He said both men lacked legal status in the country. Local reporting named the suspects as D’Angelo Carabello and Sneider Mejia and described prior criminal or immigration histories tied to them.

Days earlier, federal immigration agents in the Marble Hill area of New York City shot Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old from the Dominican Republic, during an attempted arrest as a five-year-old child sat in the car. The incident drew sharp reactions from state and city leaders. Officials and press accounts highlighted the presence of the child and called the use of force alarming. A judge later blocked Belgal’s removal while facts were still being gathered.

How New York officials responded to the ICE shooting

Governor Kathy Hochul demanded answers from federal authorities and asked for more body-camera footage. She said state and local police do not shoot near schools during afternoon operations, signaling that the incident was outside normal practice. Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting, pointed to the child in the car, and pressed for limits on federal immigration actions in the city while calling the situation unconscionable and serious.

The New York City Police Department later released body-worn camera and surveillance video showing the aftermath, not the moment shots were fired. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said an immigration agent fired seven rounds, striking Belgal in the neck. The released clips showed officers giving aid, securing the scene, and interacting with witnesses. Federal body-camera footage from the agents has not been fully released to the public.

The detective stabbing case and Mullin’s double-standard charge

Mullin argued that city leaders condemned federal agents but did not address how sanctuary rules may have enabled the detective’s alleged attackers. Available reports identified the suspects as Dominican nationals who lacked lawful status and had prior arrests or immigration issues. Those reports, however, do not show that Governor Hochul or Mayor Mamdani personally ordered any release decisions or had legal power to stop them in those specific cases.

Public records show Mayor Mamdani visited Detective Mercedes and his family at Jacobi Hospital with Commissioner Tisch on the day of the attack. That documented visit undercuts claims that he ignored the crime. The research set does not include a comparable, on-record statement by Governor Hochul about the stabbing, but it also does not prove she stayed silent. The record is incomplete, which limits any firm judgment about uneven attention across the two incidents.

What we know, what we do not, and why it matters

City-released video gives a partial view of the ICE shooting but not the instant of gunfire, leaving key facts contested. Federal officials say agents believed Belgal tried to use the vehicle as a weapon, while critics focus on the child in the back seat. Without the federal body-camera files and final investigative findings, both sides are arguing from incomplete evidence. That gap fuels anger on the left and right about government transparency and accountability.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin is calling out New York’s governor and mayor over what he describes as a glaring double standard in their response to violent crime.

“Not one of them said anything,” Mullin tells @ShannonBream on @FoxNewsSunday, pointing to an off-duty NYPD… pic.twitter.com/Hxag5Bt26a

— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 11, 2026

Sanctuary policies are under heavy fire in this dispute, yet national research generally finds no overall crime increase linked to such policies. A peer-reviewed study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported no rise in crime rates after sanctuary rules, though it did find fewer deportations. Policy averages, however, do not settle individual cases. People want to know who failed, why it happened, and whether officials are fixing clear gaps now.