Image source: X/@nypmetro
Several protesters were arrested in Lower Manhattan on Saturday after a confrontation outside a government parking garage, where they were protesting possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, the New York Police Department said. The incident unfolded outside a facility on Centre and Hester Streets, on the edge of Chinatown where dozens of federal agents appeared to be gathering for a potential immigration raid nearby, according to police and witnesses. The situation quickly escalated as crowds grew, The New York Times reported. According to ABC News, demonstrators were seen blocking vehicles and shouting “ICE out of New York,” including at one point preventing a van from leaving the garage. The NYPD said officers observed protesters blocking the street and issued multiple orders to disperse; when they did not comply, officers made arrests. The force confirmed that “multiple” people were taken into custody but did not immediately specify the number or list charges. NYPD said in a statement that officers “observed multiple people blocking the street and were told multiple times to disperse but they did not comply.” The New York Times reported that the confrontation began shortly after 11 am, when protesters formed a physical barricade at the garage entrance and piled bags of rubbish beside them as federal agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security arrived. By early afternoon, nearly 200 demonstrators had gathered, chanting at agents who looked on from inside.Police arrived to separate the groups and install metal barricades, but tensions heightened shortly after 1.15 pm, when federal vehicles attempted to leave the garage. Protesters chased the vehicles down Canal Street, with some throwing planters and rubbish bins. A masked agent was seen spraying something from a vehicle window, the NY Times reported. NYPD officers and protesters continued to clash on the street as the federal convoy drove off.The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests from either outlet for comment on whether an operation had been planned.Saturday’s clash came a month after a large federal enforcement action in the same area, during which nine people were arrested. ABC News reported that four U.S. citizens detained during that earlier operation were held for nearly 24 hours without federal charges, according to local congressman Dan Goldman. The renewed activity comes amid expectations of intensified immigration enforcement under US President Donald Trump and growing concern among New York officials about future raids.
