Federal immigration agents clashed with protesters Tuesday after a large U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation on Canal Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The raid, conducted with armored vehicles and tactical units, resulted in multiple detentions and at least one arrest for assaulting a federal officer.
The operation began around 4 p.m. and targeted street vendors accused of selling counterfeit luxury goods, according to the Department of Homeland Security. ICE agents, backed by Border Patrol and FBI units, used riot shields and batons as they detained several vendors and cleared the streets. Video of the sweep quickly circulated on social media, showing agents in tactical gear confronting crowds shouting “ICE out of New York.”
New York City Councilmember Christopher Marte likened the raid to “post-9/11 military action,” warning that restrictive vending permit caps leave migrant workers vulnerable. Mayor Eric Adams said the city had no involvement in the raid, adding that enforcement “should focus on violent criminals, not undocumented New Yorkers pursuing their American dreams.”
Murad Awawdeh of the New York Immigration Coalition called the sweep a “violent spectacle” meant to intimidate immigrant communities. ICE officials maintain the operation targeted counterfeit trafficking, not immigration status.
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