Scene at ICE involved shooting in Marble Hill, October 8, 2026 - Photo: NY Times

On Thursday October 8, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot and wounded a reported undocumented immigrant, in the Marble Hill section of Manhattan. The initial response from the ICE agents is that the suspect, attempting to escape being “boxed” in violently drove his car towards agents where one open fire, discharging his weapon seven times. A five-year-old child who was in the back seat of the car was unhurt. According to news reports the suspect was hit below the left ear. The shooting incident took place at a time when the area was crowded: people were coming from work, children and their parents were going home from school, and others just going about their regular business. New York City’s mayor Zohran Mamdani had this to say initially: “This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation. I have called the President; when we speak, I will demand that he end all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities.”

Communities of Color Under Siege

Every country has immigration policies meant to protect its borders and also ensure that goods and services are distributed equitably; this is an expected norm in any civilized and efficiently run society. The enforcement of these immigration policies is expected to be performed in a manner prescribed by the laws of that society, and in keeping with Constitutional provisions. The United States is the only country where immigration policies are enforced in a manner that terrorizes not only those suspected of immigration breach, but citizens also. Quite a number of times Bonafide US citizens are arrested and detained by ICE and DHS agents, under suspicion for immigration infringement, only to be released later. These are the lucky ones, which are a minute few; what is worst is that more and more encounters with ICE agents are ending with shootings and in some cases fatalities. Since Donald Trump occupied the White House, his immigration crackdown has become an exercise of total chaos, by out-of-control agents who enter communities of color with arrogance and intent to do harm as evidenced by the number of shootings involving ICE agents.

Lorenzo Salgado , was shot and killed by ICE Agents, on his way to work - Photo: Reuters

These statistics show a biased and racially motivated program of intimidation and political barbarism. It is a known fact, that other ethnic groups have undocumented immigrants living and working among them. I personally have had white coworkers who were undocumented; never once have I heard that their community were ever raided by Federal Agents. Once again, the Corporate Media has brought out its same old, same old, “playbook” of demonizing and vilifying the victims of injustice. My understanding, which is founded in the US Constitution and State Laws throughout the country, is that if you suspect an individual of wrongdoing, you apprehend them lawfully, charge them and take them before the court for trial and conviction. What has become the norm is that people suspected of immigration fraud, are chased, corralled, held at gunpoint, and forcibly removed from their vehicle. The actions of these Federal Agents are reminiscent of Hitler’s Brownshirts and Mussolini’s Blackshirts; which were specialized, armed enforcement groups of the respective fascist regime. The actions of ICE and DHS Agents are not meant to simply enforce immigration Laws, but to intimidate, and discourage dissent against social and racial injustice.

ICE and Border patrol Agents in Minneapolis, January 24, 2026 - Photo: Chad Davis

Mass Immigration and foreign policy: Parts of The Same Whole

The legacy of slavery, colonialism, and neocolonialism in countries of the Global South, is a history of poverty, underdevelopment, and dependence. The Corporate Media and reactionary politicians love to bereave these countries about "abject poverty.” It is their country which is responsible for this manufactured poverty globally, because of intervention, stealing of natural resources, and other neocolonial practices. The solution for mass immigration and illegal migration is easy; stop interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries; allow countries to exercise their irrefutable right to independence and self-determination. Allow countries to freely choose what socioeconomic path they wish to pursue, and having done so, stop the destabilization, fomenting social chaos and in cases downright militarism to overthrow their government.

After independence, some of these developing countries tried to embark on a path of progressive socio-economic development, but faced fierce resistance from the local capitalist class, former colonial power, and multi-national corporations headed by the United States. Further, if we support the premise that economics is the basis of society, then politics must reflect and support that socio-economic system from which it evolved. Political independence did not automatically translate into economic independence, for most of the developing countries. Also, many leaders of these countries carried on the colonial and misguided policies of their predecessors, on the erroneous belief that this would promote social advancement.

At the same time the colonialists and multinationals installed “puppet” officials who sabotaged any program that would foster progressive social development. Here too the consolidation of independence suffered a serious blow from internal contradictions and capitalism’s new tactic: the export of capital. In a Paper presented to the 10th annual Third World Conference, Dr. Linus A. Hopkins wrote “the debt burden of Third World countries has not accumulated overnight. It has accumulated as a result of the decades of ‘unequal exchange’ between these nations and the industrial western nations within the international capitalist economy, an exchange that, historically, has been characterized by a legacy of underdevelopment and dependency for the exploited.” The export of capital through commodities, machinery, technology, licensing agreements, credits, and loans by international financial institutions, put the receiving country in nothing short of persistent poverty. Agencies such as the IMF, World Band, IADB and Exim bank among others, create tremendous economic and social pressures on developing countries through draconian lending policies.

The progressive forces of these countries also need to organize and agitate to develop a working people’s Movement and assume power to pursue a path of national sovereignty, self-determination, and non-capitalist socio-economic development. The resources of the world exists for all humans to use and enjoy; however, international capitalism believes that they should have exclusive access and control of it by either not paying for it or, if they do, at the smallest cost to them and at the detriment of the owners of said resources. Immigration and foreign policy go hand in hand, they are interrelated; they can be either complimentary or antagonistic to each other. Approaching the discussion any other way is lopsided and gives only a partial view of the issue - they are parts of the same whole.