U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided New York City's Canal Street on Tuesday, arresting nine African immigrants accused of crimes including forgery and drug trafficking. Protesters attempted to block the operation, yelling insults at agents and hindering vehicles. The raid follows reports of illegal sales in the area and plans for more arrests.
On Tuesday, October 21, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a raid on New York City's Canal Street, an area known for illegal immigrant-related crime. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced that nine African illegal immigrants with extensive criminal records were arrested during the operation. Their alleged offenses include forgery, drug trafficking, robbery, and assault. According to the Department of Homeland Security, five of the individuals had entered the United States illegally and were subsequently released by the Biden administration.
Lyons explained the basis for the action in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday: “We do these based on criminal intelligence, and that’s what we had.” Protesters gathered to oppose the raid, yelling in the faces of ICE agents and calling them Nazis and fascists, as reported by AMNY. Some demonstrators tried to block federal vehicles, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Lyons commented on the protests: “We know everywhere we go because of elected officials’ rhetoric against ICE, we have these protests.”
The operation came days after Turning Point USA reporter Savanah Hernandez highlighted a black market on the corner of Broadway and Canal Street on October 19, 2025. Hernandez observed a large group of migrants from Senegal selling counterfeit designer bags and fleeing from police. She suggested on X: “Perhaps @ICEgov should go check this corner out.”
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo criticized the raid in a tweet on October 21, 2025, calling it “an abuse of federal power by the Trump” administration and invoking the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of American values. Despite the opposition, Lyons indicated that ICE plans to increase arrests in New York City. He stated: “You will see an increase in ICE arrests because there are so many criminal illegal aliens that have been released in New York specifically and especially that are being harbored in New York for the lack of cooperation there, in New York City. So you will see us making those criminal arrests to make New York safe again.”