NEW YORK (AP) — An immigration enforcement operation that sparked spontaneous protests on Manhattan’s Canal Street led to the arrests of 14 people, federal authorities said Wednesday, including several demonstrators accused of assaulting or obstructing agents.
Droves of angry New Yorkers surrounded a group of federal agents Thursday afternoon after they began questioning and detaining street vendors on the busy commercial strip, known for its sidewalk bazaars and shops selling knock-off designer goods.
Law enforcement raids aimed at combating counterfeiting are relatively frequent on Canal Street, but the sight of dozens of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents making arrests drew instant protests.
Activists who rushed to the scene joined with bystanders, many of whom appeared to be on their way home from work, and shouted at the agents, at one point blocking their vehicle. Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and other federal offices then tried to clear the streets, in some cases shoving protesters to the ground and threatening them with stun guns or pepper spray before detaining them.
Nine people were arrested in the initial immigration sweep, according to Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. Four more people were arrested for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement officers, she said. A fifth was arrested on an accusation that they had obstructed law enforcement by blocking a driveway, McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin called the initial sweep “a targeted, intelligence-driven” operation “focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods.” She said some of the people arrested by authorities had previously been accused of crimes, including “robbery, burglary, domestic violence, assaulting law enforcement, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, drug possession, and forgery.”
The sweep came after at last two conservative influencers shared video on X of men selling bags on Canal Street’s sidewalks.
The enforcement operation drew condemnation from the two Democrats in New York City’s mayoral race.
“Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop,” said state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani,
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, similarly, said it was “more about fear than justice.”
Canal Street is famous globally as a place to buy counterfeit designer and bootlegged goods, and federal authorities often partner with the city’s police department and luxury brands on crackdowns aimed at shutting down the illicit trade.
Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, said the police department had no involvement in Tuesday’s sweep.
“Our administration has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue their American Dreams should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals,” he said.
