DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin didn’t hold back on Sunday when he tore into New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for her selective outrage. While the Governor screamed about federal agents shooting a migrant in the Bronx, she stayed completely quiet when an off-duty NYPD detective was stabbed seven times in that same neighborhood just last week. This isn’t just politics; it’s a dangerous double standard that puts our cops and citizens at risk while shielding criminals.
The facts here are stark and come straight from the reporting. According to the New York Post, Mullin appeared on Fox News’ “Shannon Bream” and pointed out the hypocrisy of the state’s leadership. He noted that neither Hochul nor other “career sanctuary politicians” said “anything when … an NYPD officer was stabbed seven times in this same neighborhood in the Bronx just last week,” referring to off-duty Detective Jose Mercedes. Meanwhile, the city erupted over the shooting of Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old illegal immigrant with a massive rap sheet, who was hit in the neck by ICE agents on Thursday.
The Hypocrisy of Sanctuary Politics
Mullin made it clear that the silence on the stabbing speaks volumes. “When an NYPD officer got stabbed, no one did a press conference, no one was outside protesting, no one said a word,” Mullin said. He then contrasted that with the massive protests and demands for answers after Belgal was shot, despite Belgal having an extensive criminal history. In only three years, Belgal accumulated an astonishing volume of charges, such as four felony robbery counts, two felony assault counts, and various drug and larceny offenses, according to reports.
The similarities between the attackers in the Mercedes stabbing and Belgal are too glaring to ignore. Mullin noted the striking connections linking Mercedes stabbing suspects Dangelo Rafael Jean Caraballo and Sneider Mejia Bautista to the migrant supported by the left. “All three of these criminals … all from the Dominican Republic, all had extensive criminal records, all should have been deported,” Mullin said. These aren’t just random arrests; they are repeat offenders who have been failed by a system that refuses to enforce the law.
Mayor Mamdani’s Radical Rhetoric
While Mullin pointed out the lack of support for police, Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on his attacks against federal law enforcement. In an interview on MS Now on Sunday, Mamdani threatened to launch an investigation into the ICE shooting and the NYPD’s response. The agency was previously described by him as “rotten to its core,” while he renewed his demand for ICE to leave the Big Apple, alleging they behave more like a terrorist group than a law enforcement body.
“The city is still dealing with having been terrorized by a rogue federal agency,” Mamdani seethed during the interview. His assertion stated that federal officers appeared as aggressors rather than those trying to detain a violent suspect, as agents allegedly shot at a vehicle in broad daylight while hiding behind construction vests. Mamdani also focused on the trauma of Belgal’s 5-year-old son, who was in the car, while downplaying the fact that the man they were pursuing was a known gang member with ties to the violent Trinitarios street gang.
A Dangerous Path Forward
This is a clear case of political grandstanding over public safety. When you protect violent criminals and silence the voices of those who protect us, you invite more chaos. The community in Marble Hill is already rattled. Juan Morales, a local resident who walked with a cane, described the scene outside the subway station as “terrifying.” “I saw the man bleeding,” Morales said, leaning on his cane on Friday morning. “The saddest part was seeing the boy sitting there.”
But the focus on the child’s trauma while ignoring the decades of crimes committed by the father is a distraction. Belgal was discharged from the hospital and taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after his release. The reality is that these individuals should not be in this country, let alone free to walk the streets or drive cars with children inside. The silence on the stabbing of a police officer is a betrayal of the very people who keep New York safe.
This is opinion and commentary from the RapForMayor team.
