DHS Chief Markwayne Mullin sharply rebuked CBS’s Margaret Brennan during an appearance on “Face the Nation” after she challenged ICE officers over a shooting involving a criminal illegal alien whose child was inside his vehicle.

Rather than placing responsibility on Oscar Belgal for driving with his child present and accelerating toward officers, Brennan questioned why the ICE officers involved had not noticed the child inside the vehicle. Mullin forcefully rejected that framing.

The clash followed unrest in the Bronx on Thursday evening after an ICE agent shot and wounded Belgal, an illegal alien from the Dominican Republic, in Marble Hill. Protesters gathered following the shooting.

Video posted on social media showed activists opposed to ICE blocking federal vehicles and confronting ICE agents. The Department of Homeland Security later confirmed that an ICE agent shot Belgal, whom the department identified as a criminal alien gang member.

DHS described the enforcement action as a targeted operation conducted on October 8. The department said officers were attempting to arrest Belgal based on his criminal history and prior arrests.

“On October 8, at approximately 4:00 PM ET, ICE officers were conducting a targeted enforcement operation in the Bronx, New York, to arrest a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny, and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs, and weapons possession. He has associations to the Trinitarios gang, the same gang who brutally shot a CBP officer last year,” DHS said.

Belgal had a prior grand larceny conviction as well as previous arrests involving assault, robbery, drug possession, and weapons possession. DHS also said he had associations with the Trinitarios gang.

The department further criticized the policies that allowed Belgal to return to the community after an earlier arrest by the New York Police Department. DHS specifically pointed to his December 7, 2023, arrest.

“This criminal illegal alien was arrested by the NYPD on December 7, 2023, but was released into the community a few days later by reckless Democrat sanctuary policies that put American lives at risk,” they said.

Belgal’s child, who was five years old, was inside the vehicle when the shooting took place. That fact became the center of Brennan’s questioning during Mullin’s appearance on the CBS program.

Belgal accelerated his vehicle and rammed two vehicles before targeting officers. Brennan nevertheless directed her question toward the officers and whether they had recognized that a child was in the car.

“How come those officers didn’t notice that a child was put in that car?” Margaret Brennan asked Mullin.

Mullin responded by shifting the focus squarely back to Belgal, arguing that the father knew his child was present. He also invoked his own experience as a father of six children while condemning Belgal’s actions.

“You know who did know the kid was in the vehicle? Oscar! As a father of six kids, no way I ever put my kids in danger,” Mullin said.

Mullin continued by saying he would have left the vehicle rather than expose his child to danger. He argued that Belgal acted selfishly by accelerating toward officers despite knowing his child was inside.

“I would’ve gotten out of my vehicle to protect my child. No way I would’ve been selfish enough. He absolutely was selfish enough to put his child in danger! He’s the one who decided to accelerate towards officers. That tells you the type of character Oscar is!” Mullin said.

The exchange highlighted the stark disagreement over who bore responsibility for placing the child in a dangerous situation. Brennan focused her question on what the officers noticed, while Mullin emphasized that Belgal knew his own child was in the vehicle.

Meanwhile, the confrontation outside continued to draw activists opposed to ICE following the shooting. The social media footage showed federal vehicles being blocked and ICE personnel confronted as tensions rose in the Bronx.

Mullin’s answer left little room for the blame game Brennan appeared to be offering. His position was blunt: Belgal, not the officers pursuing him, chose to accelerate while his five-year-old child remained inside the vehicle.

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