United States politics
The recordFiled October 18, 2026Checked October 18, 2026
Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani said New York City has no warrant for Oscar Belgal, the man ICE agents shot in the Bronx.
Asked on MS NOW on Oct. 11, 2026, about the federal request that the city take Belgal into custody
“We do not have a warrant for Mr. Belgal in New York City.”
Source
DHS's account of the Bronx ICE arrest names no warrant, and no record or report we found shows a New York warrant for Oscar Belgal.
After ICE agents shot Oscar Belgal in the Bronx, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, "We do not have a warrant for Mr. Belgal in New York City." DHS's own account of the arrest never mentions a warrant, and CNN reports DHS has said Belgal had an immigration detainer, a civil ICE request that is not a court warrant.
Left
Left · Left on our bias map
Mamdani Condemns Mullin For Treating The Law 'As A Suggestion' After ICE Shooting
Sanjana Karanth · October 11, 2026
“I asked on what warrant. We do not have a warrant for Mr. Belgal in New York City,” Mamdani said.
Right
Right · Right on our bias map
Low-rated source: New York Post (MBFC Right-Center, Mixed factual reporting)Mamdani threatens to probe ICE after NYC 'illegal migrant' shooting — as he compares agency to terrorists
Carl Campanile · October 11, 2026
He refused to detain Belgal because there was no warrant for his arrest.
We’re interested in your thoughts
Before you see our verdict, what’s your call on this claim?What’s your call on this claim? Our verdict is shown below.
FP verdict
The main point holds, with a caveat.
Confidence score (how well the claim holds up against the record, 0 to 10): 6/10 — Every account fits the claim, and DHS names only a civil detainer, never a warrant. The rest is unconfirmed details: no court record, NYPD or district attorney statement confirms that no warrant existed, and the government's court response is due Oct. 23.
Sourced from U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the main point holds, with a caveat.
“We do not have a warrant for Mr. Belgal in New York City.”
No record or report we found shows a New York City or New York State warrant for Belgal. DHS's Oct. 9 account of the arrest never mentions a warrant, and DHS has said he had an immigration detainer, which is a civil ICE request, not a court warrant. Court records reported by CNN show probation and an open drug case, with no warrant reported. It isn't rated True because no court record, NYPD statement or district attorney statement confirms that no warrant existed, and the government's answer in federal court is still due.
Primary source: DHS Debunks New York Sanctuary Politicians’ Lies About ICE Shooting of Illegal Alien Gang Member (Oct. 9, 2026) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
Red versus Blue
Based on the full articles
- Shared factsBoth report Mamdani's Oct. 11 MS NOW interview, his unsuccessful talks with Trump and Mullin after the shooting, and that he would not have Belgal held because there was no warrant.
- Different emphasisHuffPost, from the left, leads with Mamdani's attack on Mullin and the agents' tactics (plainclothes agents, construction vests, shots at a moving car with a 5-year-old inside). The New York Post, from the right, leads with his threat to investigate ICE, calls Belgal a "criminal illegal migrant" and lists his "rap sheet."
- Material differencesHuffPost quotes the warrant line word for word, including "in New York City"; the Post paraphrases it as "no warrant for his arrest." Neither article mentions the immigration detainer DHS has pointed to, and neither checks whether a warrant existed.
Shows its work
How this rating was reached
- Lie
- Doesn't hold up
- Misleading
- Mostly false
- Half true
- Mostly true
- True
- Unproven
This verdict aligns with the primary source, U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Describes the Oct. 8 arrest operation and his record; the word "warrant" does not appear.
Why it holds up
Why mostly true
Every account we found fits the claim. DHS, which had every reason to name a warrant, names none in its release and has pointed only to a detainer. The court records CNN describes show probation and an open drug case, with no warrant reported. It falls short of True because nothing primary confirms that no warrant existed: no court record we could check, no NYPD or district attorney statement, and the government's response in federal court isn't due until Oct. 23.
- PrimaryU.S. Department of Homeland Security: DHS Debunks New York Sanctuary Politicians’ Lies About ICE Shooting of Illegal Alien Gang Member, Condemns Sanctuary New York for Refusing to Honor Nearly 15,000 ICE Detainers
- Secondary reportingCNN: What we know about the ICE shooting in New York City
- PrimaryU.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (docket via Habeas Dockets): Belgal v. Genalo, No. 1:26-cv-06607: docket, including the Oct. 16, 2026, order extending the government's deadline
01
The claim
In an Oct. 11 interview with Jacob Soboroff on MS NOW's "Connect," Mamdani described his calls with President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin after ICE agents shot Oscar Belgal in the Bronx on Oct. 8. At about 9:44 to 9:53 in MS NOW's YouTube video, he said: "When they said they wanted us to take Mr. Belgal into custody, I asked on what warrant. We do not have a warrant for Mr. Belgal in New York City." At about 10:50, asked to confirm, he said: "That's correct. There is no warrant for Mr. Belgal in New York City."
- Secondary reportingMS NOW: EXCLUSIVE: Mayor Mamdani says ICE makes ‘a MOCKERY’ of law & order after NYC shooting (Connect with Jacob Soboroff, video)
- Secondary reportingInternet Archive (Wayback Machine): Archived copy of MS NOW's interview video page, captured Oct. 18, 2026
- Secondary reportingHuffPost: Mamdani Condemns Mullin For Treating The Law 'As A Suggestion' After ICE Shooting
02
What the claim covers
He was talking about a warrant in New York City: a criminal or court warrant that city police could act on. Later in the same interview (about 12:05 to 12:12), asked about city jails honoring ICE detainers, he said: "It is the law in New York City that for more than 170 serious violent crimes when a judge signs off on a warrant that there is that handover." This report rates whether such a warrant existed. It doesn't rate whether ICE needed one to arrest Belgal, which is a separate legal fight.
03
What DHS says
DHS's Oct. 9 release says ICE officers were "conducting a targeted enforcement operation in the Bronx, New York, to arrest Oscar Bengal" (its spelling), lists his criminal history and describes the shooting. The word "warrant" doesn't appear in the release. CNN reported: "DHS has said Belgal had an immigration detainer, which allows ICE to take custody of immigrants in criminal custody, but Belgal was released after that earlier arrest." A detainer is a civil immigration request from ICE to a jail. It is not a criminal or court warrant.
- PrimaryU.S. Department of Homeland Security: DHS Debunks New York Sanctuary Politicians’ Lies About ICE Shooting of Illegal Alien Gang Member, Condemns Sanctuary New York for Refusing to Honor Nearly 15,000 ICE Detainers
- Secondary reportingCNN: What we know about the ICE shooting in New York City
- PrimaryU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: DHS Form I-247A, Immigration Detainer: Notice of Action (3/17)
- PrimaryNew York Appellate Division, Second Department (New York Official Reports): People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco, 168 AD3d 31 (2d Dept 2018)
04
His New York court record
CNN reported: "He ultimately pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny and received five years of probation, according to New York court records. He was also arrested last year on drug charges and has pleaded not guilty, court records show." None of the coverage we read reports a bench warrant, a probation-violation warrant or any other New York warrant for him.
05
The federal court case
Belgal's lawyers filed a habeas petition in federal court in Brooklyn on Oct. 14 (Belgal v. Genalo, No. 1:26-cv-06607). It says: "ICE did not prepare a Notice to Appear charging Oscar as removable until October 9, 2026." That is the day after the arrest. This is his lawyers' account, and the government hasn't answered it yet. The docket shows the government response due Oct. 23 (extended Oct. 16); medical update due Oct. 19.
- PrimaryU.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (petition posted by The Legal Aid Society): Belgal v. Genalo, No. 1:26-cv-06607, Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (filed Oct. 14, 2026)
- PrimaryU.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (docket via Habeas Dockets): Belgal v. Genalo, No. 1:26-cv-06607: docket, including the Oct. 16, 2026, order extending the government's deadline
06
The left-leaning framing
HuffPost framed the interview around Mamdani's attack on Mullin, quoting him: "I think that what they have shown time and again is that they view the law as a suggestion." It reported that "Mamdani said he has tried, so far unsuccessfully, to negotiate Belgal's release and have the case turned over to NYPD," and quoted the warrant line word for word.
07
The right-leaning framing
The New York Post led with Mamdani's threat to investigate ICE, called Belgal a "criminal illegal migrant" and listed his "rap sheet." It summed up the warrant point in its own words: "He refused to detain Belgal because there was no warrant for his arrest." That sentence is the Post's paraphrase of Mamdani's account.
08
The buried fact
DHS's own release, written to rebut New York officials, describes the arrest operation in detail and never says ICE or anyone else had a warrant. What DHS has pointed to instead is a detainer, which CNN describes as a tool for taking custody of people already in criminal custody. Neither the HuffPost article nor the New York Post article mentions the detainer.
- PrimaryU.S. Department of Homeland Security: DHS Debunks New York Sanctuary Politicians’ Lies About ICE Shooting of Illegal Alien Gang Member, Condemns Sanctuary New York for Refusing to Honor Nearly 15,000 ICE Detainers
- Secondary reportingCNN: What we know about the ICE shooting in New York City
- Secondary reportingHuffPost: Mamdani Condemns Mullin For Treating The Law 'As A Suggestion' After ICE Shooting
- Secondary reportingNew York Post: Mamdani threatens to probe ICE after NYC 'illegal migrant' shooting — as he compares agency to terrorists
09
What each side gets right, and hides
HuffPost quotes Mamdani exactly but doesn't say what DHS says Belgal did have, a detainer, or check whether a warrant existed. The New York Post details his criminal record but compresses the claim to "no warrant for his arrest" and doesn't mention the detainer either.
- Secondary reportingHuffPost: Mamdani Condemns Mullin For Treating The Law 'As A Suggestion' After ICE Shooting
- Secondary reportingNew York Post: Mamdani threatens to probe ICE after NYC 'illegal migrant' shooting — as he compares agency to terrorists
- Secondary reportingCNN: What we know about the ICE shooting in New York City
10
The question to ask
When the government answers in federal court, due Oct. 23, will it point to any warrant for Belgal, or only to the detainer?
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Times the word "warrant" appears in DHS's Oct. 9 release on the arrest | 0 | U.S. Department of Homeland Security |
| Date ICE's Notice to Appear was prepared, according to Belgal's petition | Oct. 9, 2026 (the day after the arrest) | U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (petition posted by The Legal Aid Society) |
| Government's response to the habeas petition due | Oct. 23, 2026, 10:00 a.m. ET (extended Oct. 16) | U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (docket via Habeas Dockets) |
Caveats and limits
Not verified
- We couldn't check New York criminal court records directly, and the NYPD and the Bronx district attorney haven't said whether a warrant existed.
- We haven't seen ICE's Notice to Appear itself. Its Oct. 9 date comes from Belgal's petition, which is his lawyers' account.
- The government response is due Oct. 23 (extended Oct. 16); medical update due Oct. 19. If the response shows a New York warrant, we'll update this report with a dated correction.
Caveats
- Name spelled as in court filings; the audio sounds like "Bergal."
- This report rates whether a New York warrant for Belgal existed. It doesn't rate whether ICE needed one to arrest him, or either side's account of the shooting.
- The right-leaning article is from the New York Post, rated Right-Center with Mixed factual reporting by Media Bias/Fact Check. No right-leaning outlet rated Mostly Factual or better carried the claim, so we used it as a last resort and checked its sentence against the video.
Sources
Primary · official record
Primary · official record
Primary · official record
Secondary reporting
EXCLUSIVE: Mayor Mamdani says ICE makes ‘a MOCKERY’ of law & order after NYC shooting (Connect with Jacob Soboroff, video)MS NOW · October 11, 2026
When they said they wanted us to take Mr. Belgal into custody, I asked on what warrant. We do not have a warrant for Mr. Belgal in New York City.
Secondary reporting
Secondary reporting
Mamdani Condemns Mullin For Treating The Law 'As A Suggestion' After ICE ShootingHuffPost · Sanjana Karanth · October 11, 2026
Secondary reporting
Mamdani threatens to probe ICE after NYC 'illegal migrant' shooting — as he compares agency to terroristsNew York Post · Carl Campanile · October 11, 2026
Secondary reporting
What we know about the ICE shooting in New York CityCNN · Eduardo Cuevas, Mark Morales · October 12, 2026
Primary · official record
DHS Form I-247A, Immigration Detainer: Notice of Action (3/17)U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement · March 24, 2017
An immigration detainer is a notice to a law enforcement agency that DHS intends to assume custody of you (after you otherwise would be released from custody) because there is probable cause that you are subject to removal from the United States under federal immigration law.
Primary · official record
People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco, 168 AD3d 31 (2d Dept 2018)New York Appellate Division, Second Department (New York Official Reports) · November 14, 2018
As of April 2017, ICE makes this request using Form I-247A, which must be accompanied by an administrative warrant for arrest (or removal if the individual has already been adjudicated) signed by an immigration officer (Form I-200) ( see 8 USC §§ 1226, 1231 [a]; 8 CFR 236.1).
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