Law360 (October 15, 2026, 5:19 PM EDT) -- Attorneys for a New York man shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers while his son was in the car renewed their attempt to free him from detention, saying he is still in need of medical attention.

According to a new habeas petition filed Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York, Oscar Belgal, a native of the Dominican Republic, still has a bullet lodged in his neck, has lost feeling in half of his face, and is losing hearing in his left ear.

Belgal dismissed his original petition, which was filed in the Southern District of New York, because of jurisdictional issues. He refiled it based on the location of his detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where his attorneys say he is being held in a segregated unit and being denied contact with his family.

Belgal's attorneys reiterated their argument that ICE unlawfully arrested him without a warrant, saying officers targeted him even though there is no pending notice to appear to trigger removal proceedings. According to his petition, ICE did not assess whether he posed a flight risk.

"ICE's egregious actions violate fundamental principles of every legal structure that constrains its conduct and authority — the Constitution, the statutory and regulatory framework, and even its own internal policies," Belgal said.

U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzales ordered the government to show cause by Monday why the petition should not be granted.

Unidentified ICE officers approached Belgal's vehicle with drawn weapons on Oct. 8, after which one of them shattered the driver's side window and then fired multiple shots into the car while his 5-year-old son was in the back seat. One of the bullets struck Belgal in the neck.

Officers then pulled him from the car, pinned him to it and handcuffed him without providing medical aid, Belgal said. According to his attorneys, he did not know the men who approached his car and shot him were ICE agents until he woke up in the hospital.

Perry McAninch and Elyssa Williams of The Legal Aid Society, who represent Belgal, said doctors informed their client that he would need surgery to remove the bullet, instructing him to return this week for treatment. It is unclear when he will receive that treatment, they said, and he is only being given ibuprofen for pain at the detention facility.

Belgal's petition said he replays the "traumatic events" over and over, and that "his son's hysterical cries ringing endlessly in his head."

According to McAninch and Williams, Belgal's son didn't speak for days after the incident, and he has had nightmares every night since seeing his father shot.

Belgal has been convicted for theft and is facing charges related to an alleged drug sale. But his petition denies ICE's claims that he is associated with the Trinitarios gang. ICE claimed that it arrested him for having information about a 2025 shooting of a law enforcement officer, but the petition called that assertion "dubious at best," saying ICE has no investigative authority over that matter and state authorities have not issued an arrest warrant for Belgal based on that incident.

Belgal is seeking immediate release from custody, in large part based on his need for medical care.

"With a bullet still lodged in his neck and his serious medical needs unmet, every additional day in custody puts him at further risk. The court must intervene and order his immediate release," McAninch and Williams in a joint statement Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not return a request for comment Thursday.

Belgal is represented by Perry Hall McAninch and Elyssa Williams of The Legal Aid Society.

Counsel information for the government was not immediately available.

The case is Belgal v. Genalo, case number 1:26-cv-06607, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

--Additional reporting by Stewart Bishop. Editing by Adam LoBelia.

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