Protest Erupts As US Homeland Security Arrests 9 Illegal Immigrants In Manhattan

Last Updated:October 22, 2025, 23:26 IST

New York officials condemned ICE raids in Chinatown, where federal agents detained nine men sparking protests. Kathy Hochul and Chuck Schumer criticised the operation.

The illegal immigrants who were arrested by the Department of Homeland Security in Manhatten. (Tricia McLaughlin/X)

The state officials in New York have expressed outrage over raids by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Manhattan’s Chinatown on Tuesday.

The Guardian cited witnesses and video footage telling about the chaotic scenes in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, where masked and armed federal agents were seen detaining several individuals near Canal Street, while crowds of New Yorkers gathered, protesting against the action. Military-style vehicles were also seen driving through the area.

The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday said that they had arrested nine men, mostly from West Africa and some with prior arrests, who entered the country illegally. They called the operation “focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods." They also released photos of the arrested men.

The agency said that many of those arrested had entered the country during the Biden administration while others overstayed their visas or had been ordered deported by a judge years ago.

In response to the raids, a contingent of New Yorkers chased federal agents down Lafayette Street while the agents returned to the ICE offices at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, New York Times reported.

Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokeswoman, said the crowd “became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties, including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement."

A spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Adams said the police were not involved in the raid but monitored the situations.

Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the operation and hit out at Donald Trump. She said that Trump “claims he’s targeting the ‘worst of the worst’" but “today his 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," she said.

Chuck Schumer, a New York senator, called the raid “indiscriminate, wrong, and destructive" and said that federal immigration agencies “should target criminals for arrest and deportation – not unleash reckless raids against vendors on the streets of the city".

“This creates fear and chaos and does not make us safer," he added.

The Guardian quoted Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, calling Tuesday’s raid a “horrifying display of federal overreach and authoritarian tactics", adding that “our communities deserve safety, dignity and due process – not fear and violence that tear families apart".

He added that some people were also taken into custody for protesting and blocking ICE’s efforts.

News world Protest Erupts As US Homeland Security Arrests 9 Illegal Immigrants In Manhattan

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