Media Monitor #14, 10-18 October 2026, Compiled by Susan Manuel
Mamdani wants ICE out of NYC
In the wake of the ICE shooting of Oscar Belgal last week in Marble Hill, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has called on the agency to end operations in NYC and to release Belgal who remains, wounded, in detention. Mamdani said the incident appeared to bystanders to be a mass shooter, as the armed men wore plain clothes.
He told the Guardian that ICE agents “’view the law as a suggestion,’” adding that NYC law prohibits police from firing at someone in a vehicle in most circumstances.
Although the mayor spoke with President Trump for some two hours, the administration declined to call off its agents or to release Belgal, Mamdani’s two asks. CNN reported that “the friendly “relationship between President Donald Trump and NYC Mayor Mamdani hit one of its roughest tests yet Thursday after a series of calls” over the shooting.
“That left the mayor facing uncomfortable questions Friday about the utility of his Trump charm offensive and a rift with allies on the left who clashed with NYPD during a chaotic protest in the residential neighborhood where the shooting took place,” reported Politico.
Mamdani faced calls from some activists to fire police commissioner Jessica Tisch, which he has declined.
Belgal appeared virtually in immigration court on Oct. 15. He has been kept in solitary confinement in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest.
Media cited DHS Secretary Mullin’s claim that Belgal had ties to the Trinitarious gang, a prior conviction for grand larceny and prior arrests for assault, robbery, drugs and weapons possession and that he rammed two agent cars and put his five-year-old child in jeopardy.
CNN reported that Mullin and Trump offered to transfer Belgal to NYPD custody. The mayor refused, saying there was no legal reason to hold Belgal without a warrant.
The New York Times reported on Belgal’s peripatetic life since arriving in the US from the Dominican Republic four years ago: “The shooting marked the culmination of a brief but turbulent time in New York. Some who knew him—particularly those who felt harmed by his actions—were outraged by the shooting but said that a string of bad decisions had paved a direct path to his arrest and potential deportation.” These included multiple arrests—including for robbing his friend– and money problems.
His lawyers contend the ICE arrest was illegal because the officers lacked a valid warrant and had not started deportation proceedings against him.
Although the mayor spoke with President Trump for some two hours, the administration declined to call off its agents or to release Belgal, Mamdani’s two asks. CNN reported that “the friendly “relationship between President Donald Trump and NYC Mayor Mamdani hit one of its roughest tests yet Thursday after a series of calls” over the shooting.
Judge upholds NYC sanctuary laws
Meanwhile, a federal judge on Oct. 15 rejected the Trump administration’s lawsuit against NYC’s sanctuary laws which state that the federal government cannot compel police officials and city agencies from helping federal agents enforce civil immigration laws. NYC’s sanctuary laws were passed in 2014 under Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“The dismissal was the latest defeat for President Trump as he attempts to force cities and states to work with the ICE mass deportation campaign.” (New York Times) The judge said that “the federal government lacked standing and that the Constitution protected cities and states from being forced into spending their own resources to enforce immigration laws, which are under the purview of the federal government.”
“’This is a victory for New Yorkers and a rebuke to ICE’s deportation agenda,’” said Mamdani.
An ICE blitz conducted in NYC in July and August,– which DHS called Operation Rotten Apple–, resulted in more than 2,100 arrests.
“The dismissal was the latest defeat for President Trump as he attempts to force cities and states to work with the ICE mass deportation campaign.” (New York Times)
No parking for ICE
Mayor Mamdani is leading a coalition of more than 100 elected officials urging private parking lot and garage owners across New York City to refuse ICE requests to use their properties as staging areas for enforcement operations, New York media reported. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined 109 other elected officials in urging property owners not to rent, lend or otherwise make their facilities available to ICE. (ABC7NY)
Spectrum One reported that activists in NYC are targeting Target in Marble Hill where ICE has parked its vehicles. Target said it has no arrangement with ICE and doesn’t own the lot.
Fines drive people out
Newsweek reported that a sweeping immigration penalty campaign has helped to drive thousands of deportations. New rules make it easier and faster to issue fines against immigrants who ignore deportation orders or enter the US illegally.
DHS has issued more than 175,000 penalties of more than $84 billion in fines since 2025. It has been urging immigrants to self-deport, offering a $3000 stipend and free flight home, as well as fine forgiveness. DHS says that more than 3 million “illegal aliens” have left the US. Of those, 2.2 million self-deported.
“DHS says the goal is present immigrants with a choice: depart voluntarily, potentially with government assistance and forgiven penalties, or remain in the US and face escalating financial and immigration consequences.” (Newsweek)
A DHS filing Oct. 13 finalized a 2025 interim rule applying to immigrants who fail to leave the US after deportation orders, as well as those caught entering the country illegally. The process streamlines how DHS imposes fines that Congress authorized years ago. Now DHS can issue a penalty decision, without a review process.
“’This final rule follows key trends of other immigration policy changes …including a focus on increasing self-departures to increase the overall number of deportations and adding pressure or fear factor for noncitizens ….The final rule is also reminiscent of a common tactic used by this administration: reviving old laws and implementing them for deportation,’” said Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh of the Migration Policy Institute.
“CPB has made major changes to its app which had been used to make appointments at the border for new arrivals seeking legal status. Now it is designed to aid those seeking to leave the US to avoid ICE detention and large fines.”
Maryland immigrant detainee dies after deportation denial
The family of Julian Curo-Churata, a Peruvian native and 17-year Maryland resident, is still waiting to find out why he died in the ICE Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana. Curo-Churata, 47, had requested to self deport, but an immigration judge denied his application on Sept. 18. He died 10 days later. No reason has yet been given for his death, or for the denial of his application, according to media.
ICE awards billions in construction/spyware
Over the fiscal year ending in September, ICE signed seven contracts for a combined $8 billion for construction at 13 government-owned sites nationwide. The awards have a five-year framework for design and construction work. The agency added $7.2 million to an existing order for a tent facility for women detainees in Batavia NY. (Project Saltbox)
ICE also outlined plans for ERO ONE, a contract intelligence workforce that would place 142 analysts in offices around the country to conduct background research, prepare threat assessments and map relationships among individuals, organizations, locations and events. The contract may exceed $100 million, with an RFP expected in December.
Customs and Border Patrol awarded 15 new contracts totaling $1.6 billion to construct patrol stations, checkpoints and other facilities, mostly on the southern US border but also a couple in Maine.
Roxbury NJ warehouse holding detainees against court order
New Jersey media have been reporting that DHS has admitted to using the parking lot of a vacant warehouse in Roxbury to hold detained individuals — a move that could be a violation of a court order, U.S. Rep. Analilia Mejia said.
An ICE congressional liaison told Mejia’s office that ICE’s Newark field office used the lot on multiple occasions in September. However, a court-brokered agreement bars the property’s use as a detention center pending completion of an environmental assessment, according to a spokesperson for the NJ Attorney General Jennifer Davenport.
The warehouse has been at the center of a major political, legal and community conflict for months.
In late 2025, DHS signaled it was planning to convert the 470,000 space into the state’s third immigration detention facility. DHS purchased it in February for $129 million. State and town officials then sued to block the conversion, arguing there had been no environmental review or consultation with local officials.
A federal court order bars DHS from using the property for detention until it completes the review. At one point, DHS said they would abandon the warehouse conversion, then reversed course a week later.
The Township of Roxbury has a webpage dedicated to the issue. On Oct. 13, Deputy Mayor Crowley reported on the latest incidents of detainee processing at the site’s parking lot, while ICE personnel have been using the warehouse for training. The Township has asked for access enter the warehouse but the DOJ declined due to the ongoing litigation “Roxbury Township remains in active litigation against the federal government,” Crowley wrote.
Madhuri Shukla, Detention Watch Network, via JustSeeds.org