New York Democrats Urge Private Lot Owners to Ban ICE Staging Areas

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other prominent New York Democrats are calling on owners of private parking lots to deny access to federal immigration officers, requesting they not be used as staging areas for enforcement operations. The appeal follows a recent incident where immigration officers shot a man in the city.

In a letter sent Friday, Mamdani, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, and numerous state and local lawmakers urged lot and garage owners to refuse rentals or permission to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for staging areas. "In solidarity with immigrant New Yorkers and in our shared commitment to the City we love, we ask that you do not rent, lend, or otherwise make your property available to ICE as a staging area for its enforcement operations," the letter stated. "Make it known to ICE that it is not authorized to use your garages and lots."

The request comes days after immigration officers shot Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national, during an arrest attempt. Belgal was in a car with his young son at the time of the shooting, which occurred near a private parking lot that federal officers had been using as a staging area, according to the letter. The incident has sparked protests and renewed scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson criticized the letter, stating that Mayor Mamdani should be thankful for law enforcement officers making the city safer and that ICE would continue deporting individuals regardless of parking arrangements.

Federal officials maintain that the immigration officers fired only after Belgal perceived a threat to their safety, smashed his car into two government vehicles, and then accelerated towards them.

New York City has a policy that generally bars outside law enforcement agencies, including DHS, from using city property for staging areas unless they possess a judicial warrant or meet specific limited legal exceptions. However, the letter noted that these restrictions apply only to city-owned property, not private lots.

Private businesses have previously found themselves at the center of political debates surrounding federal immigration enforcement. In one instance, a Minnesota hotel apologized for refusing to allow immigration officers to stay on its premises after facing public criticism from DHS. In another event, protesters occupied the lobby of a Manhattan hotel that they claimed was housing immigration officers.