ICE agents make busts on Canal Street in NYC’s Chinatown in effort to crack down on illegal vendors

Federal immigration authorities arrested multiple people, including illegal vendors and enraged protesters, on Tuesday afternoon in a targeted operation on Canal Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown, authorities and law enforcement sources said.

ICE agents descended on the block between Lafayette and Centre streets, which is typically crowded with merchants selling knockoff designer bags and other items, around 4 p.m., according to the sources.

Some vendors tried to flee, with some seen running and falling as agents closed in, according to WABC.

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The Post witnessed agents checking IDs and taking about five vendors into custody.

The operation turned chaotic as protesters shouted obscenities and blocked vehicles, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to The Post. 

At least one “rioter” was arrested for assault on a federal officer during the “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” that involved multiple federal agencies, the DHS said.

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During the arrest of one vendor, bystanders became enraged and yelled in ICE agents’ faces, calling them Nazis and fascists, AMNY reported.

ICE agents reportedly began slamming people to the ground, leading other bystanders to join the mob, the outlet said.

Federal officers responded by pulling out batons and riot shields, striking some protesters, according to the report. 

The exact number of arrests, including the breakdown of how many vendors and protesters were cuffed, is not yet known.

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“I saw this live in real time and real history,” said Manhattan resident Kaden Cummings, 23. “They just started grabbing people and putting them into vans.”

Edwin Jean, who is from Brooklyn, told The Post he was briefly cuffed by the feds when he refused to hand over his ID.

He then became enraged and began swearing at the agents.

“I’m not doing nothing, I’m from Brooklyn,” Jean said. “They asked me for my ID and I didn’t give it to them so they cuffed me.”

“This is the first time this has happened over here in Manhattan. They never come over here.”

By early Tuesday evening, about 100 people had gathered outside 26 Federal Plaza to protest the arrests.

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Protesters on the corner of Duane Street and Broadway shouted “ICE out of New York” outside the building where several immigration detentions took place this month

At least one individual in a crowd of swarming protesters was arrested by NYPD officers later Tuesday, The Post observed.

In a post on X, the NYPD said it “had no involvement in the federal operation that took place on Canal Street this afternoon.”

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner for NYC mayor, blasted the raid as an “aggressive and reckless raid on immigrant street vendors” in a statement on X. 

“Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop,” Mamdani wrote. 

Mayor Eric Adams also affirmed that city officials had no involvement in the crackdown.

“New York City does not cooperate with federal law enforcement on civil deportations, in accordance with our local laws,” Adams wrote in a statement on X.

“While we gather details about the situation, New Yorkers should know that we have no involvement. 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 wrote.

Representatives from ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.

Additional reporting by Joe Marino and Ella Morrison