A federal judge has denied a temporary release for Oscar Belgal, a Dominican immigrant who was shot in the neck by a federal immigration officer earlier this month, ruling on Friday that he was in stable condition, according to reporting by The New York Times carried by Washington Square News.
Source: The New York Times via Washington Square News
Judge Hector Gonzalez said Belgal was receiving “appropriate” medical care at a federal jail in Brooklyn, where he has been in custody since October 8, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers fired seven rounds into his car while he was driving with his five-year-old son. The Department of Homeland Security has said Belgal “weaponized his vehicle” and charged at officers during the incident — an allegation his side disputes through its court filings.
The federal government submitted filings showing that Belgal had routine check-ups and was treated with prescription medication for his gunshot wound. He was evaluated at Brooklyn Hospital Center after arriving at federal prison, where scans led doctors to conclude that he did not need acute care, the filings said.
Belgal is currently in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center and is awaiting surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his neck, according to his lawyers. His lawyers had filed an emergency motion requesting his release on bond to receive medical treatment, citing his declining condition, in a habeas case filed in the Eastern District of New York.
Source: Legal Aid Society habeas petition, EDNY
“This ruling leaves Mr. Belgal in detention despite the concerns surrounding his deteriorating medical condition and raises serious questions about whether his health and basic human dignity are being given the weight they deserve,” the Legal Aid Society, the nonprofit public defence organisation representing Belgal, said in a statement.
A separate federal judge earlier blocked Belgal's deportation while his challenge to his detention proceeds. The medical-release ruling does not decide that underlying case.