An immigration enforcement raid on Manhattan’s Canal Street was met by droves of angry New Yorkers Tuesday night, with one person in particular emerging afterward as an unlikely protagonist: “polka-dot dress lady.”
Photos and videos from the scene show the woman, wearing a demure blue and white polka-dot dress and blue blazer, staring down an armored police vehicle while calmly flipping double birds, purse slung over her left arm.
In another video, the unidentified woman can be seen tussling with a man wearing a tactical vest before stepping back to adjust her purse. A different angle appears to show her intervening in that instance to calm tensions between the vest-wearing man and a third protester.
A separate photo shows her flipping the bird once more as the same man, presumably an ICE officer, appears to grimace in resignation and walk in the opposite direction.
“Polka-dot dress lady” received plaudits online.
“One woman in a polka-dot dress showing more courage than half of Congress ever will,” read one response on Bluesky. Another read, “Motto of the day- Be the Lady in the polka dot dress. Stand up to bullies and give them a two finger salute.”
The woman, like many of the protesters, appeared to be on her way home from work when she encountered the federal agents wearing tactical gear.
New York City Council Member Christopher Marte told City & State New York he saw the number of immigration officers swell from seven to more than 80 over the course of 30 minutes.
“This was Trump’s response to 100,000 [New Yorkers] this past weekend protesting that we shouldn’t have a king in the White House,” he added.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told The Associated Press the officers were conducting an enforcement operation against sellers of “counterfeit goods.”
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McLaughlin described the New Yorkers confronting ICE as “rioters who were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement.” She said at least one person was arrested for assaulting an officer.
But Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, said it was the officers who were looking to create “a violent spectacle” ― not the other way around.
“This operation had nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with terrorizing immigrant families and communities,” he said in a statement. “Federal agents created a violent spectacle, tackling bystanders to the ground and using force against New Yorkers simply for doing what they do every day.”