U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swooped down on Canal St. in lower Manhattan Tuesday afternoon in a surprise raid and detained a number of individuals, police sources said.
ICE agents rounded up people along several blocks of Canal St., from Church St. to Lafayette St., on the borders of SoHo, Tribeca and Chinatown, shutting down the area as they conducted a raid targeting illegal street vendors, according to witnesses and ABC 7.
Bobbie Baro, a longtime vendor originally from Mauritania, who was selling knockoff Beats headphones, said when the agents showed up, “Everybody started running.” He said he didn’t run because, “I have ID.”
A woman stands in front of an armored vehicle operated by federal agents on Lafayette Street as demonstrators follow along after an immigration sweep on Canal Street through Chinatown, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)
“ICE, they do what they want to do. They target our community,” Baro said. “They asked random people for ID. They didn’t have it and they took them down.”
“It’s a violation of a law, I never seen anything like this,” he said. “I been in the country 25 years, and Americans were never like this.”
Federal agents walk down Lafayette Street as demonstrators follow behind after an immigration sweep on Canal Street through Chinatown, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)
A crowd of people gathered to protest the masked agents as dozens of ICE officers were seen detaining people. It was unclear how many people were detained in the raid, but Baro said he saw at least seven individuals taken into custody.
A witness who did not give his name said there was a “spontaneous” resistance by passersby when the ICE agents started questioning people and making arrests. He added that, along with the vendors, some “white kids” who were sticking up for them were also taken into custody.
Federal agents walk down Lafayette Street as demonstrators follow along after an immigration sweep on Canal Street through Chinatown, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)
“The crowd erupted, it was spontaneous,” he said. “They surrounded their vehicles, they weren’t letting them leave. And then they arrested some Americans.”
The witness showed the Daily News video of the arrests, saying the detainees were taken down to 26 Federal Plaza.
Federal agents stand by a BearCat armored vehicle, as NYPD SRG agents stand by to control a crowd outside of 26 Federal Plaza on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Sean Sweeney of the SoHo Alliance, a local community group, said the raid didn’t come as a surprise because residents have been concerned about the vendors increasingly taking up space on the sidewalk and selling counterfeit goods.
“The guys who were selling the counterfeit merchandise, it was centered on Canal and Broadway, and they were there for quite a few years,” Sweeney said. “People complained, but it was contained and it didn’t spread. For the last six months, for some reason, it has spread east all the way to Mulberry St.”
Another witness, Islam Rubel Muhammed, told the Daily News that the agents arrested men who were selling “weed and fake bags.” Canal St. is a well-known spot to buy knockoff designer handbags from sidewalk vendors.
“You can see their vehicles down the street with flashing lights. They grabbed a bunch of guys one over there, another over there, at least five by Church St. and they kept moving,” Muhammed said.
William Joyce, New York City acting field office director at the Department of Homeland Security, (center) speaks on the phone as federal agents and law enforcement stand outside of 26 Federal Plaza on October 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Christopher Marte, the area’s Democratic councilman, condemned the raid, calling it a “horrifying display of federal overreach.”
“ICE has no place in New York City, especially not in the heart of Chinatown, terrorizing our immigrant neighbors with military vehicles and masked agents,” he said. “This kind of escalation is unnecessary, unacceptable and antithetical to our city’s values as a sanctuary for all people. The challenges around vending on Canal St. are real and must be addressed,” Marte said, “but federal agents storming our streets and targeting community members is not the solution.”
Federal agents and law enforcement officers stand outside of 26 Federal Plaza on October 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Marte said his office has called for local enforcement to handle the issue of illegal vending, in order to protect both vendors and small businesses.
The NYPD posted on X that it “had no involvement in the federal operation that took place on Canal Street this afternoon.”
Also posting on X, Mayor Adams said, “New York City does not cooperate with federal law enforcement on civil deportations, in accordance with our local laws. While we gather details about the situation, New Yorkers should know that we have no involvement.
“Our administration has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue their American Dreams should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals.”
Gov. Hochul also chastised the federal involvement.
“@realDonaldTrump claims he’s targeting the ‘worst of the worst.’ Today his agents used batons and pepper spray on street vendors and bystanders on Canal Street. You don’t make New York safer by attacking New Yorkers,” Hochul wrote on X.
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani decried the raid on the street vendors, posting, “Federal agents from ICE and HSI — some in military fatigues and masks — descended on Chinatown today in an aggressive and reckless raid on immigrant street vendors. Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop.”
Elected officials showed up at 26 Federal Plaza, joining a crowd in protesting the vendors’ arrests.
Comptroller Brad Lander told The News, “Street vendors are not a national security threat, but the Trump administration doesn’t think so. Trump wants to sow fear and chaos. New Yorkers are not going to stand for it.”
“This is not about public safety,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams scoffed. “They literally have military vehicles and arms. These are street vendors. This a target against Black street vendors, and it appears to be a response to a tweet,” he said, referring to hostile online posts about the vendors that he attributed to right-wingers.
“This is how we get this,” Williams said, pointing to the angry crowd of protesters stretching down the block along Broadway from 26 Federal Plaza.
Originally Published: October 22, 2025 at 10:14 AM EDT