ICE agents clash with large crowd in Lower Manhattan: ‘Shame’
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) — ICE agents clashed with a large crowd in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon.
Dozens of federal agents appeared in the crowd near Lafayette Street just after 4:30 p.m. Agents pushed people as a car attempted to pull through, video shows. Within 30 minutes, hundreds of people were in the streets screaming “shame.”
At least three people were detained on the street, one of whom was on the ground. Around 4:45 p.m., an armored Homeland Security Investigations vehicle drove through the crowd.
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The crowd started to form at Lafayette and Canal, then walked down toward 26 Federal Plaza, where New York City’s immigration courts and an ICE holding facility are.
Witnesses told NewsNation’s Jessica Kartalija that people were being indiscriminately thrown to the ground.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the agents were carrying out an enforcement operation against sellers of “counterfeit goods” when “rioters who were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement.”
Before the chaos started on Lafayette Street, ICE agents and federal officers conducted an operation near Canal Street between Church and Broadway. Federal officers were seen walking around the area with zip ties and detained at least one person.
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“ICE is out there arresting our neighbors, kidnapping them,” Morgan, a witness at the scene, told PIX11 News.
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Murad Awawdeh, of the New York Immigration Coalition, told PIX11 that ICE agents were targeting street vendors. The coalition believes around 40 people were detained.
“We are trying to figure out who they are and being able to provide any support for them and their families. We are seeing family separation happening in real time,” Awawdeh said.
In a statement to PIX11 News, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office said Eric Adams was aware of the federal law enforcement action in Lower Manhattan.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
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Public Advocate Jumaane Williams held a press conference outside of 26 Federal Plaza behind a group of protestors at 6 p.m., urging New Yorkers not to ‘antagonize’ federal agents.
“Do not give in to the temptation that they are trying to provide to antagonize them back… please do not engage in behavior that gives them the excuse they are looking for to further invade New York City,” Williams said.
Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here.
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