NY GOP candidate blasts Harry Styles for paying tribute to felon migrant
New York GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman reacts to Harry Styles paying tribute to Oscar Belgal, a violent felon migrant with known gang ties who attacked neighbors with a machete. Blakeman blasts NY Gov. Kathy Hochul’s sanctuary policies as thousands of ICE detainers go ignored.
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New York GOP gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman decried Harry Styles as an “out-of-touch” elitist after the singer paid tribute at his Madison Square Garden performance to a migrant shot during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation.
“I think Harry Styles should put that guy on his tour bus and tour around the country with this guy, who is a convicted criminal,” he said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.” “He is alleged to have gang activity. He’s alleged to be involved in drug-dealing poison to our children.”
Styles, who is doing a 30-night residency at Madison Square Garden, took a moment during his show to honor 28-year-old Oscar Belgal, a migrant from the Dominican Republic who was shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday while his 5-year-old son was in the back seat of the car.
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Harry Styles attends The BRIT Awards 2026 at Co-op Live on February 28, 2026, in Manchester, England. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
“I just want us to take a moment to think about Oscar Belgal tonight, and I want us to just think and remember to just look after each other,” the singer said.
Blakeman criticized Styles over the tribute, arguing that illegal immigrants with prior convictions should be deported and not defended by celebrities.
“It’s elitist, it’s out-of-touch and quite frankly, it’s wrong,” he told Fox News. “We have to get these illegal migrants with criminal records out of our communities.”
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Belgal was shot after allegedly refusing to comply with officers conducting a targeted arrest operation. Senior ICE official Marcos Charles defended the officers during a Friday news conference, explaining what prompted them to open fire.
Belgal has previous arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons possession, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Federal officials also alleged Belgal has ties to the Trinitarios street gang.
Harry Styles called for “dignity” and “justice” during his Madison Square Garden concert after a federal immigration agent shot Oscar Belgal in New York City. (Left: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images; Right: WNYW.)
“This is who [Styles] wants in our communities? This is who he sticks up for, rather than federal agents who just want to do their job?” Blakeman asked.
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Blakeman, who is in the final weeks of his campaign for New York governor, argued that celebrities such as Styles are insulated from the consequences of the immigration policies they appear to support.
“Harry Styles and elitists like him, they know that these criminals aren’t going to move into their neighborhoods,” he said. “They’re going to move into neighborhoods with Hispanic and Latino populations, Asian-American populations, African-American and Caribbean populations, and hurt those communities and try and get those kids into their drug gangs.”
A DHS spokesperson also criticized the singer’s tribute in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying in part: “Imagine taking law enforcement advice from a man who dresses in women’s clothes while hiding behind armed private security.”
Law enforcement personnel tend to the suspect after he was shot by a federal immigration officer in New York. A 5-year-old boy was inside the car. (New York City Police Department via AP)
Fox News Digital reached out to Styles for comment.
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Blakeman’s comments against Styles come as New York leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, continue to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
More than 16,000 ICE detainers have not been honored by New York since January 2025, according to DHS, while Mamdani has called ICE “rotten to its core.”
Blakeman criticized Hochul as “out-of-touch” and accused her of putting New Yorkers in danger through her immigration agenda.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul listens as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during the annual New York State Financial Control Board meeting on Aug. 12, 2026, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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Belgal is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn reportedly with a bullet lodged in his neck. His legal team said he is enduring “deplorable conditions” at the facility.