Federal agents detained several people Tuesday afternoon while conducting an operation on Manhattan’s busy Canal Street, searching for undocumented immigrants who may have connections to illegal street vending, according to a senior law enforcement official familiar with the matter.
Dozens of agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations were seen wearing marked vests near the intersection of Canal and Broadway. They detained several people and loaded them into unmarked vans waiting nearby.
The senior law enforcement official said ICE and HSI were looking for undocumented individuals who may have been engaged in illegally selling items on the street. Sidewalk vendors are a common sight throughout the city and have been so for decades, especially in the area of Canal Street.
Federal agents were seen taking five or six people into custody, though an official number was not immediately known. Two men who were initially seen being detained were later released; both told NBC New York that they are American citizens.
Witnesses who watched the operation unfold on the street could be heard yelling at agents as they took people away.
In addition to ICE and HSI agents, there were also law enforcement officers present wearing vests that read DEA and FBI. A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed its special agents were embedded with teams from Homeland Security conducting these kinds operations not just in New York City, but around the country.
The NYPD said the department had “no involvement in the federal operation that took place on Canal Street.” Mayor Eric Adams said that the city “does not cooperate with federal law enforcement on civil deportations, in accordance with our local laws” and noted that the city had no involvement in the operation.
“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,” Adams posted on social media.
Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani called it an “aggressive and reckless raid” carried out by agents “some in military fatigues and masks” as they detained individuals on the street.
“Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop,” Mamdani said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul went after President Trump, saying his agents “agents used batons and pepper spray on street vendors and bystanders on Canal Street. You don’t make New York safer by attacking New Yorkers.”
In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called it a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation,” during which some others “became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement.” McLaughlin said one person was arrested for assault on a federal officer.
Police said two people in all were taken into custody, one of whom was blocking traffic.
