Migrant vendors fear returning after Canal Street ICE raid

New York City’s Canal Street for decades has been a hub for vendors to make a quick buck selling fake luxury designer products. Many of these vendors are migrants who are able to maintain a living selling Gucci glasses and Prada bags of dubious origin.

On Oct. 21, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided the busy market street and made several arrests that were met with protests by locals and government officials. A day later, the street was barren, and a majority of the migrants had not come back to sell.

“(ICE) was asking people for their IDs and their status in America, and they happened to arrest a lot of people,” said Awa Ngam, one of the few vendors who returned to the street to sell after the ICE raid. Ngam, unlike those who were arrested, has become an American citizen and is a licensed vendor. She made it a point not to show fear after the raid, saying, “We all know each other. We’re not criminals. We are just like everybody else.”

Ngam, who sells hoodies next to a TD Bank where many sources who witnessed the event pointed to as the block on which the ICE raid started, expressed her grief for those who were taken away by enforcement officers. “I wish they come back right now,” she said. “We need people out here.”

Islam, a 34-year old convenience shop worker who declined to provide his last name due to privacy concerns, also witnessed the raid in the same block as the TD Bank.

“Suddenly, we see people being arrested by ICE. Some, two or three people, Black people,” Islam said. Many of the people arrested during the ICE raid were West African, a population that was a substantial portion of the migrant influx to the city in recent years.

In order to make ends meet, migrants have capitalized on the consistent tourist traffic on Canal Street by selling merchandise to survive in the city. Ousmane Diallo, 55, checked out the area on Oct. 22 to grasp what happened during the raid. Diallo was a Canal Street vendor in 2002.

“You have to do something to pay the rent. To buy food. That’s the whole point,” said Diallo, who added that Canal Street has been able to maintain its foot traffic because of the vendors.

A fruit vendor, who did not provide her name due to her immigration status, said she survived the ICE raid by running away and hiding, leaving her produce behind while witnessing other vendors doing the same. The fruit vendor returned the next day, despite her fears: “If we don’t come out to work every day, how are we supposed to live?”

Earlier this year, the New York City Police Department conducted raids on Canal Street due to complaints from residents hoping to lessen the street selling of merchandise and ease pedestrian congestion. The fruit vendor, who has been selling on Canal Street for over a year now, said she had witnessed these NYPD raids every week and has received tickets, as well as had her produce confiscated.

The vendor said they take it easier on her compared to the merchandise vendors selling counterfeit goods. “We are only selling fruits, compared to the others who they claim are trafficking,” she said.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, nine immigrants who entered the country illegally were arrested during the raid. Rep. Dan Goldman said four U.S. citizens were also detained for “nearly 24 hours” and then released. According to the Trump administration, more ICE raids like the one on Canal Street are expected in New York City.

The SoHo Broadway Initiative, a neighborhood improvement district, has plans to reduce illegal vending by migrants on Canal Street.

On Oct. 23, they hosted a meeting to discuss Canal Street with officials from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, New York City Council Christopher Marte’s office, the New York City Department of Sanitation and the NYPD.

SoHo Broadway Initiative held its annual meeting on Oct. 22 and acknowledged that the raid was immigration enforcement, different from what they do with local agencies, but declined to comment further on their plans to get rid of illegal vending on Canal Street.

State Sen. Brian Kavanagh, who attended the group’s Oct. 22 meeting, told City & State that the raid was unsurprising considering the ongoing raids across the country. “I think there are appropriate ways to address that. And this organization has been interested in addressing them … but obviously going in and rounding up everybody and throwing people to the ground … it’s grotesque, it’s inappropriate.”