ICE agents conducted an unprecedented raid on Manhattan’s Chinatown, arresting several people, including vendors and protestors, as the scene devolved into chaos
09:25 ET, 23 Oct 2025Updated 10:05 ET, 23 Oct 2025
ICE agents conducted an unprecedented raid on Manhattan’s Chinatown, arresting several people, including vendors and protestors, as the scene devolved into chaos (Image: NewsNation)
Agents affiliated with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flooded downtown Manhattan on Tuesday, arresting multiple people, including several illegal vendors and protestors.
Authorities and officials associated with the operation targeted Canal Street. It was reported that ICE agents descended on the block located between Lafayette and Centre streets around 4 p.m., sources reported. Vendors, known for selling counterfeit merchandise, attempted to flee and were seen running in a futile attempt to evade the agents.
WABC reported that police officers were checking IDs and took about five vendors into custody. According to reports, the situation turned chaotic when protesters against the agency began shouting obscenities and blocking vehicles.
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Reports show that at least one protester was taken into custody for allegedly assaulting a police officer during what is being described by the Department of Homeland Security as a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation. AMNY reported that during the arrest of one vendor, the crowd became enraged and called ICE officers Nazis and fascists.
It was then that the agents began slamming people to the ground, prompting several other bystanders to join the growing mob, according to the report. The number of arrests has yet to be made public.
Authorities and officials associated with the operation targeted Canal Street and descended on the block located between Lafayette and Centre streets around 4 p.m.(Image: AP)
“I saw this live in real time and real history,” said Manhattan resident Kaden Cummings, 23, to The New York Post. “They just started grabbing people and putting them into vans.”
Brooklyn resident Edwin Jean, claimed to the Post that officers had cuffed him when federal agents refused to hand over his ID. According to Jean, he became enraged and started swearing at them.
Vendors, known for selling counterfeit merchandise, attempted to flee and were seen running in a futile attempt to evade the agents. (Image: AP)
“I’m not doing nothing, I’m from Brooklyn,” Jean said. “They asked me for my ID and I didn’t give it to them so they cuffed me.”
“This is the first time this has happened over here in Manhattan,” he added. “They never come over here.”
WABC reported that police officers were checking IDs and took about five vendors into custody. (Image: AP)
The Post reported that, as of Tuesday evening, about 100 people had gathered outside of 26 Federal Plaza to protest the arrests. NewsNation correspondent Jessica Kartalija reported live from the scene, likening it to a war zone.
“It’s hard to believe that this is Manhattan, and it’s 2025, and it looks like a war zone out here,” she said in a dramatic video. “People are masked up. They’re not showing their faces. … It’s just so incredibly divisive. And regardless of what your view is, it’s a difficult situation.”
The Post reported that, as of Tuesday evening, about 100 people had gathered outside of 26 Federal Plaza to protest the arrests(Image: Getty Images)
In a statement on X, the NYPD commented that it “had no involvement in the federal operation that took place on Canal Street this afternoon.” Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayor in the New York City mayoral race, also condemned the raid.
“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,” he wrote on X. “Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop.”
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