CHINATOWN, Manhattan (WABC) — On Canal Street Wednesday morning, there was an unusual sense of peace and tranquility.
Empty sidewalks were free of the illegal street vendors hawking fake designer label purses and luxury watches.
If that was the mission of federal agents Tuesday afternoon, to clear the scene of vendors who often hail from West Africa, mission accomplished.
Eyewitness News spoke to some siblings from Texas and it was not their first visit to Chinatown.
“I was like, whoa. You usually see them all, packed full, everywhere on the streets. Today, pretty quiet,” said Aye Soe, a tourist.
“There’s not really much people out here no more, as in the sellers and everything,” said Gandawin Soe, a tourist.
It was a chaotic scene in Chinatown Tuesday when a swarm of masked immigration officers, ATF and Homeland Security agents, and other federal law enforcement all pushed, pulled, and detained the vendors who are a fixture on the sidewalks of Canal Street.
The show of force quickly generated a rather vocal response from ICE protestors who immediately started recording video and taking pictures of agents at work. Pushing and shoving soon followed.
In a statement, a Homeland Security spokesperson said the agents, “Conducted a targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation on Canal Street in New York City focused on criminal activity related to selling counterfeit goods.”
Jason Jackson, an elevator repairman who works in the area, said he wouldn’t be surprised if social media videos taken by ICE supporters led federal agents to target this part of Manhattan.
“I definitely think that is how it went. Because this has been going on for a long time and just out of nowhere, they want to crack down on it,” Jackson said.
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