Welcome back to the Unify Brief where we track the latest developments facing our nation.
ICE officer shoots a man in New York City
On Oct. 8, a federal immigration agent shot and wounded 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in New York City with his five-year-old son in the backseat. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed they were seeking to arrest the man in a “targeted enforcement operation.”
According to DHS, Belgal immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic illegally and had been convicted of grand larceny.
DHS only said that “during the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon,” New York Police Department (NYPD) Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that two federal agents, not in uniform, approached Belgal’s car as he was parking. When Belgal began to pull forward, at least one agent fired seven rounds with one shot hitting Belgal below his left ear.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting and ICE’s presence in New York. “There is no explanation for federal officers firing this many rounds into a car that has a 5-year-old in the car,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani also said that he spent two hours on the phone with President Trump and DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin, trying to negotiate the release of Belgal, who was taken away by ICE after being released from the hospital, but was unsuccessful.
National: Videos show ICE shooting in NYC unfolded in a few chaotic seconds (AP News)
Local: “What’d I Miss?”: ICE’s shocking news (The Colorado Sun)
What other college campuses have to say: ICE officer sighted on CSU’s campus, source confirms officer is no longer on campus (The Rocky Mountain Collegian)
Pentagon says execution of Fort Hood shooter will be public and streamed live
On Oct. 8, Pentagon officials confirmed that the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be public, a practice that has not occurred in the United States for nearly a century.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was sentenced to death by firing squad for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at Fort Hood in 2009. This was the deadliest shooting in history at an American military base.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth explained that the execution would be public and livestreamed “because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
The plan has been condemned by both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. “Hasan should face the death penalty, but making his execution public and streaming it? Beyond disgusting,” Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said.
Hasan’s execution will be the first military execution since a soldier was hanged in 1961. Hasan will be shot to death on Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. CST at Ford Hood.
National: Only 2 countries held known public executions last year. The U.S. is preparing for its first in 90 years. (CBS News)
Local: A Look At Colorado’s Record On The Death Penalty (CBS Colorado)
What other college campuses have to say: CLIFFORD | On Cruelty: The Usual Suspects of the Death Penalty (The Cornell Daily Sun)
Katie Zacharia named as new White House Press Secretary
Conservative commentator and former Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Katie Zacharia was named as the new White House Press Secretary, succeeding Karoline Leavitt.
Zacharia is inheriting the role at a particularly sensitive time for the Trump Administration as the midterms near, with several Republican candidates distancing themselves from the president and as Trump’s media ban is called into question by federal courts.
Zacharia received her law degree from Pepperdine University in California and has previously worked for conservative organizations such as Fix California and White Rose Resistance, an anti-abortion advocacy group.
In a statement posted on X and Truth Social, Zacharia praised President Trump, the MAGA movement, and Leavitt’s legacy.
National: Katie Zacharia will be the next White House press secretary (NBC News)
Local: Previously banned media outlets regain White House access (Denver7)
What other college campuses have to say: Pepperdine Alumna Katie Zacharia Named New White House Press Secretary (Pepperdine University)
Take Action:
At DU:
- Attend a meeting for the Club for Collective Liberation
On your own:
- Call your representatives
- Look at current opportunities to help engage young voters
- Vote in the midterms
