Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decided Thursday was a great day to go to war with Target. In the wake of an ICE shooting in the Bronx, the democratic socialist from New York demanded that Target stop allowing its properties to be used as staging areas for federal immigration enforcement.
There’s just one problem. Target says it wasn’t doing that in the first place. A company representative stated plainly, “Target has no cooperative agreements with ICE or any other immigration enforcement agency.” The Target in question is about half a mile from where the shooting actually happened. So close, and yet so far, as they say.
Here’s what actually went down. ICE agents attempted to arrest Oscar Belgal, 28, a man the Department of Homeland Security says has ties to dangerous gangs and a criminal history that includes convictions for grand larceny and arrests for robbery, drug possession, weapon possession, and assault. When agents gave him lawful orders to surrender, Belgal started pulling his car forward and accelerating instead. One ICE agent fired his weapon in response. Belgal was shot in the neck but is expected to survive. His 5-year-old son, who was in the backseat, was not injured.
Senior ICE official Marcos Charles said at a Friday news conference that “our officers, using their training and believing that their life and the life of the partners and the general public were in danger, used their training and fired weapons.” Charles also noted that while agents were unaware the child was in the car, Belgal “was aware” and chose to accelerate anyway, risking both their lives. That’s a detail AOC left out of her statement, which is shocking given how committed she usually is to thoroughness.
AOC’s statement called ICE “a rogue, lawless paramilitary and surveillance agency” and wrapped up with her signature policy position: “Abolish ICE.” She also demanded a full independent investigation, immediate release of body camera footage, and, again, that Target stop doing something Target says it isn’t doing. You can review the ICE shooting and AOC’s response for the full details yourself.
As if the story needed another twist, a federal judge appointed by Barack Obama temporarily blocked Belgal’s deportation on Friday. U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken issued a two-page order saying Belgal cannot be removed from the country without a court order and cannot be moved to another facility without court approval. A suspected gang member with a long rap sheet, shot while fleeing arrest with his kid in the car, now has a judge making sure he stays put. The system is working exactly as designed.
What happens next is anyone’s guess, but you can bet AOC will find a way to blame a retail chain for it. Drop your thoughts in the comments or share this on social media.
I’d say she should go back to bartending, but she doesn’t like ice, so I don’t know if she can even do that job anymore.
