MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — Officers from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement were seen detaining individuals near Canal Street Tuesday afternoon, video obtained from Nexstar’s NewsNation shows.
Over a dozen federal officers wearing vests that read “Police Federal Agent” were seen walking on the sidewalk in Lower Manhattan, some with zip ties. The officers got into a car and left the area. The area normally has lots of street vendors, but the streets were clear on Tuesday afternoon.
A passerby told NewsNation that police were in the area.
One man started yelling, “ICE is here,” after which the vendors all fled, according to on-the-ground reporting from a NewsNation reporter. The man reportedly tipped people off as to what the agents were doing and yelled racial slurs at the officers, who tried to arrest him. They found that he was a legal citizen and a Brooklyn resident, and they let him go.
PIX11 News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, but they were not immediately available to comment.
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The Immigration Coalition, a non-profit advocacy group, put out a call for a rapid response to the area just before 4 p.m. The group reported seeing 40 agents detaining people “indiscriminately.”
This is a developing story. Please refresh the page for updates.
Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.
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