Vendors on NYC's Canal Street say they were harassed and asked to show
papers in immigration sweep
[October 23, 2025]
By JENNIFER PELTZ and JAKE OFFENHARTZ
NEW YORK (AP) — A day after a mass of federal agents questioned street
vendors and sparked protests on Manhattan's Canal Street, sellers were
scarce on the busy strip. Some who did venture out Wednesday, though,
were disheartened or riled up by a sweep in which they said people,
including U.S. citizens, were pressed to show their papers.
Federal authorities said 14 people, including immigrants and
demonstrators, were arrested in Tuesday's sweep. The Department of
Homeland Security said it was a targeted operation focused on the
alleged sale of counterfeit goods, and Immigration and Customs
Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons said it was “definitely
intelligence-driven.”
“It’s not random. We’re just not pulling people off the street," he told
Fox News on Wednesday.
But some vendors saw it as an indiscriminate and heavy-handed crackdown
by masked agents who queried a wide swath of sellers.
Awa Ngam was selling sweaters Wednesday from a table at a Canal Street
intersection where at least one of her fellow vendors was taken away the
previous afternoon.
She said she also was asked for ID, showed it, and then for her
passport, which she doesn’t carry around. Agents quizzed her about how
she had come to the U.S., but they eventually backed off after her
husband explained that she's an American citizen, she said.
“They asked every African that was here for their status,” Ngam said.
She returned to the spot Wednesday unafraid but upset.
“I’m saddened because they should not walk around and ask people for
their passport in America,” said Ngam, who said she came to the U.S.
from Mauritania in 2009. She added that if not for her legal immigration
status, she would be fearful: “What if they took me? What would happen
to my kids?”
Some other sellers decried the sweep as harassment. Others were keeping
a low-profile and shied from speaking with journalists.
Signs freshly posted on streetlights mentioned Tuesday's sweep and urged
people at risk of detention to call an immigration law group's helpline.
Separately, state Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, asked New
Yorkers to send in photos or videos of Tuesday's immigration sweep so
that her office can assess whether any laws were broken.
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Federal agents conduct an immigration sweep on Canal Street in
Chinatown as protestors gather, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in New York.
(AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)
Law enforcement raids aimed at combating counterfeiting are relatively
frequent on Canal Street, which is known for its stalls and shops where
some vendors hawk knock-off designer goods and bootlegged wares. Federal
authorities often team up with the New York Police Department and luxury
brands on crackdowns aimed at shutting down illicit trade.
But the sight of dozens of masked ICE and other federal agents making
arrests drew instant protests.
Bystanders and activists converged at the scene and shouted at the
agents, at one point blocking their vehicle. ICE, Border Patrol and
other federal agents tried to clear the streets, sometimes shoving
protesters to the ground and threatening them with stun guns or pepper
spray before detaining them.
Nine people were arrested in the initial immigration sweep, DHS
spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. Four more people were arrested on
charges of assaulting federal law enforcement officers, she said, adding
that a fifth was arrested and accused of obstructing law enforcement by
blocking a driveway.
McLaughlin said some of the people arrested had previously been accused
of crimes, including robbery, domestic violence, assaulting law
enforcement, counterfeiting and drug offenses.
The sweep came after at least two conservative influencers shared video
on X of men selling bags on Canal Street's sidewalks.
While clashes between immigration authorities and protesters have played
out in Los Angeles and other cities, such scenes have been rarer on New
York City streets, which Mayor Eric Adams has attributed in part to his
working relationship with President Donald Trump’s administration.
Adams, a Democrat, said city police had no involvement in Tuesday's
immigration sweep.
“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,” he said.
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