Federal immigration agents moved in hard on Tuesday — arresting multiple people, including illegal vendors and violent protesters, during a targeted operation on Canal Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown, authorities confirmed.
ICE agents swept the block between Lafayette and Centre streets around 4 p.m., an area notorious for counterfeit designer goods, according to law enforcement sources.
Some vendors tried to bolt, with several seen running and falling as agents closed in, WABC reported.
The Post witnessed agents checking IDs and taking about five vendors into custody.
The operation quickly turned chaotic as protesters hurled obscenities and blocked vehicles, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to The Post.
At least one “rioter” was arrested for assaulting a federal officer during what DHS described as a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” involving multiple federal agencies.
As one vendor was arrested, angry bystanders screamed in the agents’ faces — calling them Nazis and fascists, according to AMNY.
ICE agents reportedly wrestled several agitators to the ground, prompting others to swarm. Federal officers then deployed batons and riot shields to restore order, the outlet said.
The total number of arrests — including vendors and protesters — was not immediately clear.
Watch the clips below:
BREAKING: ICE just conducted a MASSIVE RAID in NYC’s Chinatown where illegals are known to sell counterfeit goods
DEPORT DEPORT DEPORT pic.twitter.com/qCZDP8js93
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 22, 2025
🚨CHINATOWN CRACKDOWN
9 arrests were made on Canal Street, by federal law enforcement as part of a crackdown on illegal street vending.
Protestors then chased agents to the nearby federal immigration building.
KEEP ICE SAFE. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/9EEZFT1Or4
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 22, 2025
ICE agents raided lower Manhattan this afternoon, rounded up street vendors along several blocks of Canal Street, from Church St. to Lafayette St., on the borders of SoHo, Tribeca and Chinatown.
Newyorkers quickly surrounded the agents trying to stop the detentions. pic.twitter.com/wRYIk5tUct— (((Orchid)))🌻 (@OrchidNYC) October 22, 2025
More over at The New York Post:
ICE agents make busts on Canal Street in NYC’s Chinatown in effort to crackdown on illegal vendors https://t.co/ESO4hcdDrF pic.twitter.com/zfWBpKd5ke
— New York Post (@nypost) October 21, 2025