DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin schooled Jake Tapper on CNN after the host tried to pin the blame for a 5-year-old boy being put in danger during an ICE operation on federal agents.
This morning on State of the Union, Tapper grilled Mullin over Thursday’s ICE shooting in the Bronx, repeatedly questioning whether agents needed to change their tactics because a child was in the backseat.
But Mullin wasn’t about to let Tapper turn the entire incident into an indictment of ICE while ignoring the actions of the man behind the wheel.
His response was brutal but decisive, immediately putting Tapper in his place.
On Thursday, 28-year-old illegal alien Oscar Belgal was shot after an encounter with two ICE officers in the Bronx.
Belgal is a criminal from the Dominican Republic with a lengthy rap sheet, and who authorities say has direct ties to the Trinitarios street gang in New York.
The encounter ensued after Belgal was stopped in his vehicle by two ICE agents and reportedly accelerated toward the agents, before the confrontation continued roughly half a block away on Marble Hill Avenue.
Gunfire erupted, leaving Belgal with a gunshot wound to the neck.
His 5-year-old son was in the backseat throughout the ordeal but escaped unharmed.
Tapper seized on the presence of the child to challenge ICE’s tactics, asking Mullin whether agents should have done more to ensure no child was inside the vehicle before opening fire.
He was essentially trying to spin up a narrative that would have the blame lie with ICE agents for Belgal putting his child in harm’s way.
TAPPER: “I’m just asking about the tactics. I’m not defending the character of any of these gentlemen because obviously, one of the reasons this has gotten so much attention is that Oscar Belgal’s five-year-old son was in the back seat of the car.”
“Now, you have said that the agents were not aware that there was this child in the backseat of the car. But I wonder also about, in terms of tactics, shouldn’t agents be checking for things like that before they fire into the vehicle?”
“Thankfully, the kid’s fine, but if this was a targeted operation, they were surveilling Mr. Belgal, are you 100% sure that the tactics being used don’t need to change in any way?”
Mullin wasn’t going to allow Tapper to get away with pinning the responsibility for putting that child in danger on his officers. His answer was direct.
MULLIN: “Well, let’s be clear about this too. Do you know who knew the five- year-old was in the car? Oscar did.”
Mullin then brought his own experience as a father into the discussion, making the point that a parent has a responsibility to protect their child, especially when confronted by law enforcement.
“If I’m a father, which I am a father of six, and I’m going to do everything I can to protect my child, I promise you I would be obeying the lawful commands that were given.”
“The last thing I would have done is put my son or one of my kids in danger.”
He went on to describe the reckless actions Belgal took during the encounter, arguing that the decision to accelerate toward officers had put everyone in the vehicle at risk.
“He chose to accelerate at a rate of speed, hit the vehicle in front, flare off and accelerate towards officers in another vehicle. He was a selfish individual. Why would you ever put your child into into situations like that?”
Tapper quickly tried to backtrack, reiterating that he wasn’t defending Belgal.
TAPPER: “Again, I’m not defending him.”
But Mullin wanted to address Tapper’s original question about the tactics themselves, explaining how the methods used by ICE officers were consistent with those used by law enforcement agencies across the country.
He pointed out that undercover operations are a routine part of policing, and that officers often approach suspects in plain clothes. Nothing was different with this encounter.
MULLIN: “I know but let’s talk about undercover police officers. Every single department, I don’t care if it’s state, if it’s local, if it’s county or if it’s federal, they all have undercover divisions and undercover divisions make arrests every single day in plain clothes.”
“When they approached the vehicle, they had their badges out. You can see that their badge was out and they were giving lawful commands.”
“So the tactics that are used are the same tactics that are used by law enforcement from coast to coast, from local, city, state to federal.”
There it is.
Tapper wanted answers about ICE’s tactics. Mullin made it clear that he wasn’t going to let the conversation ignore the driver’s actions or the responsibility that comes with putting a child in the backseat of a car.
When Tapper tried to turn the incident into another attack on ICE, Mullin refused to let him control the narrative.
