More than 50 federal agents fanned out in the heart of Lower Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, brushing past confused tourists and pedestrians to detain several men near Canal Street and quickly drawing dozens of protesters to the streets.
The Department of Homeland Security described the operation as “focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods.”
The raid, in broad daylight, unfolded near a stretch of sidewalk where African men who illegally sell bootleg luxury merchandise to tourists are a longtime fixture.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for D.H.S., said the operation was led by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and others, including the F.B.I. and Border Patrol. She did not immediately indicate the number of people arrested or disclose their immigration status.
The operation appeared to lead to at least four detentions, according to witnesses, with the sight of dozens of masked agents descending on the edge of TriBeCa making for a visible display of force by the Trump administration in the streets of Manhattan.
News of the raid spread quickly on social media, leading protesters to show up and chase some of the federal agents down Lafayette Street as they traveled to the ICE offices at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. More federal agents showed up in tactical gear, along with an armored vehicle, leading to a chaotic scene as agents pushed back protesters.
Ms. McLaughlin said the crowd “became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties, including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement.”
The raid began about 3:20 p.m., when federal agents — their faces covered, and many with vests that said Homeland Security Investigations — emerged from unmarked vehicles on Lispenard Street, just south of Canal Street, surprising passers-by; some cursed the agents and pulled out phones to record the events.
The officers, from an array of federal agencies, detained several men who were standing on Church and Lispenard Streets, asking for their IDs and whisking them away into vans parked nearby, according to witnesses.
Conlan Thompson, 30, a photographer who works at a studio on Broadway who saw the vans pull up, said he did not believe any of the men detained were selling goods. Many, he said, were just sitting on a street corner, smoking cigarettes.
“These men, they are just grabbing people, putting them in cuffs,” said Kaden Cummings, 23, who witnessed the arrests. “Nobody’s identifying themselves, explaining. There’s no due process going on. It’s just straight to the back of a van if you’re African on Canal.”
Mor Ndiaye, 38, was one of the men at Church and Canal Streets when the agents showed up. He said a group of agents had surrounded him, pushed him to the ground — wounding his knee — and handcuffed him.
“They arrested me,” said Mr. Ndiaye, who told them he was from Senegal and had been in the United States for 20 years. “They asked me if I’m legal, so I gave them my ID. They checked and then they let me go. They put me down, and I’m like, ‘What are you looking for?’”
Dozens of officers milled on the roadway, partially obstructing traffic and keeping news photographers at bay, as others checked the identities of the men they had detained, comparing them against headshots carried by the agents on a piece of paper. Some of the men were released shortly after.
Many of the migrant vendors in and near Canal Street appeared to have been tipped off before the raid began. One man, Edwin Jean, noticed television crews amassing on Canal Street and spotted unmarked government vehicles. He ran to tell the vendors.
“Yo! ICE is here! Go home! Go home!” he shouted as he ran down Broadway, pointing to cars with tinted windows, and waiting federal agents. ICE agents briefly handcuffed Mr. Jean, who said he is a U.S. citizen, before releasing him and returning his belongings.
By Tuesday evening, following the raid, a crowd of protesters outside the ICE offices in Lower Manhattan, about 100 strong, was slowly growing, as local Democratic elected officials showed up to denounce the arrests. Ms. McLaughlin said one protester had been arrested “for assault on a federal officer,” though she did not provide additional details.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Adams said the Police Department was not involved in the raid, but was monitoring the situation at 26 Federal Plaza. By nightfall, police officers wearing helmets and carrying batons were pushing protesters to let traffic through.
For decades, Canal Street has attracted illegal vendors who sell counterfeit accessories on sidewalks, including watches, sneakers and purses with fake designer labels sold at a small fraction of the cost of the genuine item. Immigrant men, mostly from West Africa, are a fixture in the area, especially following an influx of migrants since 2022, leading to complaints about obstructed sidewalks.
The men can be spotted hawking fake items that appear authentic (Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton) to tourists from around the world, displaying the goods on blankets and tarps that can be rolled up and hauled away in a hurry.
Shortly before the raid, a two-block stretch of Canal Street between Centre Street and West Broadway was crowded with African vendors and Asian women selling purses and watches to tourists.
“Handbags! Handbags!” one vendor exclaimed. “Get them before the police get them.”
The Police Department regularly conducts operations in the vicinity, making arrests, confiscating property and issuing summonses. In August 2023, the police raided Canal Street, between Wooster and Lispenard Streets, and arrested eight street vendors, seizing millions of dollars in merchandise. The police conducted a similar takedown in January, arresting several vendors and recovering suitcases and black trash bags filled with watches and other goods.
But the police interventions are effectively a game of cat and mouse, with businesses, property owners and residents noting that illicit activity usually resumes not long after police officers disperse.
Last month business owners signed a petition calling for a more permanent police presence around Canal Street, where they said drugs are openly sold, citing concerns about crime. Some store owners have complained that the sale of counterfeit items hurts retailers and the quality of life in the neighborhood.
In recent weeks, pro-Trump social media influencers have recorded videos of African vendors on Canal Street that spread widely online, and led to calls from some users for ICE to deport the vendors.
Nick Shirley, who identifies himself as an independent journalist and who met with President Trump at the White House this month for a round table on Antifa, posted a video from Canal Street on Sept. 25 titled: “I Confronted Dangerous Migrant Scammers in NYC.”
On Sunday, a video from Canal Street posted by Savanah Hernandez, a right-wing content creator who also met with the president, garnered more than 4 million views on X.
In the video post, Ms. Hernandez wrote that “a huge group of African illegal immigrants are operating a black market on the corner of Broadway and Canal St in New York City.”
She tagged the official social media account of ICE, writing that the agency “should go check this corner out.”
The Canal Street raid came less than a week after federal agents arrested two Venezuelan men outside a migrant shelter in Times Square.
Chelsia Rose Marcius contributed reporting.
Luis Ferré-Sadurní is a Times reporter covering immigration in the New York region.
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