A federal judge Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to explain why a man shot in the neck by an ICE agent in Marble Hill last week should not be immediately released from custody, while barring his deportation as his attorneys fight to secure his release and urgently needed surgery.

U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzalez gave federal prosecutors until 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 19, to justify the continued detention of Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old father of two who was wounded Oct. 8 when immigration agents opened fire on his vehicle while his five-year-old son sat in the back seat.

The order came hours after the Legal Aid Society filed a 58-page habeas corpus petition arguing that Belgal's arrest was unlawful and that he remains in a Brooklyn detention center without receiving surgery his attorneys say doctors recommended.

Gonzalez also barred federal authorities from deporting Belgal or transferring him outside New York City's two federal judicial districts while the case proceeds. Belgal remains at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn with a bullet lodged in his neck, numbness on the left side of his face and impaired hearing in his left ear, according to his attorneys. The petition alleges that he has received only ibuprofen for his pain and has not been told when or whether he will undergo surgery.

“Mr. Belgal’s detention was unlawful from its inception. ICE officers shot him in the neck in front of his five-year-old son, failed to provide him with immediate medical assistance, and now continue to hold him in a facility notorious for medical neglect,” said Perry McAninch and Elyssa Williams, attorneys with the Legal Aid Society representing Belgal, in a joint statement Wednesday.

“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,” they added.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which operates MDC Brooklyn, declined to comment on Belgal’s medical condition, citing privacy and security concerns, but said it “does not deny any inmate necessary medical treatment or basic necessities,” including food, water and access to medical care.

His attorneys argue that ICE agents had no valid warrant to arrest Belgal when they approached his vehicle near West 225th Street and Marble Hill Avenue on Oct. 8.

His attorneys say ICE did not prepare a Notice to Appear — the document charging a person with being removable from the US — until Oct. 9, a day after the shooting. They argue that agents lacked a valid administrative arrest warrant and had not established the circumstances necessary to arrest him without one.

The petition asks the court to order Belgal's immediate release or, alternatively, hold a hearing to determine whether he can be released on bond. His attorneys are also seeking to prevent federal authorities from transferring him outside the court's jurisdiction while the case is pending.

In the petition, Belgal’s attorneys describe how the Oct. 8 shooting unfolded, offering details about what they say happened before and after agents opened fire. The incident has sparked protests and drawn condemnation from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other elected officials.

According to the petition, Belgal had picked up his son from school and stopped at McDonald's before returning home. As he attempted to pull away from a parking spot near a fire hydrant, several masked men in civilian clothing approached his vehicle with firearms drawn.

His attorneys allege that the agents did not identify themselves or present a warrant before one of them shattered his driver's side window and opened fire. At least seven shots were fired during the encounter, one of which struck Belgal in the neck, according to the petition. His son was not physically injured. The filing alleges that Belgal got out of his vehicle seeking medical assistance but was instead forced to the ground and handcuffed.

His attorneys say NYPD officers ultimately helped Belgal into an ambulance after ICE agents failed to provide medical assistance. Belgal was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where doctors stopped the bleeding but determined that removing the bullet would require surgery, according to the petition.

His attorneys say doctors instructed him to return for the procedure during the week of Oct. 12. Instead, ICE took him into custody, then transferred him to New Jersey and subsequently to MDC Brooklyn on Oct. 9.