{"id":11823,"date":"2025-10-22T11:14:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/11823\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T11:14:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:14:16","slug":"ice-conducts-raid-on-chinatowns-canal-street-multiple-people-detained-as-new-yorkers-rage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/11823\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE conducts raid on Chinatown\u2019s Canal Street, multiple people detained as New Yorkers rage"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> agents raided Chinatown\u2019s<\/a> Canal Street on Tuesday afternoon, detaining several street vendors in an operation that drew immediate and fierce backlash from bystanders and immigrant advocates.<\/p>\n

The operation began at about 3 p.m. in the area of Centre and Canal Streets where ICE agents showed up to question street vendors as part of an alleged operation to tackle counterfeit goods, according to a Homeland Security official.<\/p>\n

Videos taken by amNewYork show a crowd of New Yorkers surrounding the federal agents as they carried out the enforcement action in Lower Manhattan. Within moments, ICE agents moved in to arrest some of the bystanders as well, prompting further fury from the gathering crowd.<\/p>\n

New Yorkers pulled out their cellphones and began recording the ICE operation.\u00a0Some onlookers shouted at the agents, calling the arrests \u201cdisgusting\u201d and demanding they stop as they tackled one individual to the ground.<\/p>\n

One person told the agents, \u201cDoes that feel good? I bet your mom and dad are so proud of you\u2026.You should be ashamed of yourself.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

ICE\u2019s Chinatown raid turns chaotic<\/p>\n

When the agents went to arrest a vendor, who appeared to be African, members of the crowd became incensed. Some became enraged to the point of yelling in ICE agents\u2019 faces, comparing them to Nazis and calling them fascists.<\/p>\n

\"\"ICE detains a street vendor along Canal StreetPhoto by Dean Moses \"ICEICE agents arresting a protester in Chinatown on Oct. 21, 2025.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

As ICE agents went to their vehicles, New Yorkers ran into the streets. The agents then began pushing people and tackling some to the ground. That led to more enraged bystanders joining the mob and lashing out at the ICE agents.<\/p>\n

The feds then pulled out batons and riot shields in an effort to get the crowd under control, striking some in the process.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The crowd followed ICE agents retreated back to 26 Federal Plaza, the site of many immigrant detentions in recent months, shouting \u201cICE out of New York.\u201d The crowd was then met by more federal agents \u2014 some of whom were equipped with machine guns and looking ready for combat.<\/p>\n

As the agents entered Federal Plaza, the NYPD arrived on the scene in riot gear to halt the advancing crowd. As of 5:20 p.m., many crowd members remained outside Federal Plaza.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"The crowd followed ICE agents to Federal Plaza, the site of many immigrant detentions in recent months, where they were met by more federal agents \u2014 some equipped with machine guns and looking ready for combat.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t make anyone safer,\u201d Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, told amNewYork. \u201cIt actually makes everyone a lot more unsafe when people don\u2019t feel like they can go to the police or to law enforcement with their issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Awawdeh said his organization is verifying the number of people detained and offering legal assistance to those affected. He criticized the operation as politically motivated and influenced by online calls from right-wing influencers urging ICE to act.<\/p>\n

The operation came two days after Turning Point USA contributor Savannah Hernandez posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, urging ICE to \u201ccheck out\u201d the corner of Broadway and Canal Street.\n<\/p>\n

In her post, which had more than 4.3 million views as of Tuesday, Hernandez claimed that \u201c20 to 30 illegal immigrants\u201d from Senegal were \u201coperating a black market\u201d and selling goods without licenses.<\/p>\n

US Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement issued to amNewYork, claimed that \u201cICE and its federal partners \u2026 conducted a targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation on Canal Street\u201d that was \u201cfocused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit good (sic).\u201d In the past, the NYPD has conducted numerous raids on Canal Street targeting counterfeit merchandise<\/a>, although these operations have typically been conducted without federal intervention.<\/p>\n

McLaughlin said that \u201crioters were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties.\u201d She stated that at least one individual had been arrested for assault on a federal officer.<\/p>\n

\"\"ICE arresting another protester in Chinatown on Oct. 21, 2025.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

Council Member Christopher Marte, who represents the area, condemned the operation as \u201ca horrifying display of federal overreach.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cICE has no place in New York City, especially not in the heart of Chinatown, terrorizing our immigrant neighbors with military vehicles and masked agents,\u201d Marte said in a statement. \u201cThis kind of escalation is unnecessary, unacceptable, and antithetical to our city\u2019s values as a sanctuary for all people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marte said the challenges around street vending on Canal Street \u201care real and must be addressed,\u201d but added that \u201cfederal agents storming our streets and targeting community members is not the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

He criticized Mayor Eric Adams for \u201ccollaborating with federal immigration authorities\u201d and deploying the NYPD\u2019s Strategic Response Group alongside ICE agents, calling it \u201ca clear violation of New York City\u2019s sanctuary city laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur communities deserve safety, dignity, and accountability, not fear, raids, and collaboration with agencies that have no place in our city,\u201d Marte said.\n<\/p>\n

An NYPD spokesperson told amNewYork that the department had no role in the federal operation carried out by ICE, and that officers were instead deployed to 26 Federal Plaza to monitor demonstrations and \u201ckeep the peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said the deployment was similar to prior protest responses and emphasized that it was intended to allow people to exercise their First Amendment rights while ensuring public safety and protecting property.<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

Federal officials did not immediately comment on the incident.\n<\/p>\n

City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak said the Adams administration was aware of the federal law enforcement action on Canal Street, and was \u201cgathering more details,\u201d but that the NYPD had no role in the raid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never cooperate with federal law enforcement on civil deportation matters, in accordance with local laws, and have no involvement in this matter,\u201d Mamelak said. \u201cMayor Adams has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue the American Dream should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n

A City Hall official said senior administration staff were on the ground monitoring protests at 26 Federal Plaza and that the NYPD had the situation under control. The official added that if circumstances escalate and someone interferes with a lawful enforcement action, Mayor Adams has instructed the NYPD to intervene.<\/p>\n

This is a developing story. Check back with amNY.com later for updates. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided Chinatown\u2019s Canal Street on Tuesday afternoon, detaining several street vendors in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9392,9393,9394,9395,9396,9397,9398,9399,9400,9401,9402,9,24,55,54,56,9403,9404,9405,9406],"class_list":["post-11823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-black-market-allegations","tag-bystander-arrests","tag-chinatown-canal-street","tag-developing-story","tag-federal-enforcement-action","tag-federal-plaza-detentions","tag-ice-raid","tag-immigrant-advocates-backlash","tag-lower-manhattan-protest","tag-machine-gun-equipped-agents","tag-murad-awawdeh-nyic","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-political-motivation-claims","tag-savannah-hernandez-video","tag-street-vendors-detained","tag-turning-point-usa-link"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}