 "NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 29: Immigration activists block ICE vans during a protest against a purported ICE raid on Canal Street on November 29, 2025 in New York City. Activists assembled outside of a garage used by ICE and later they tried to block ICE vehicles as they traveled from the garage down Canal Street to the Holland Tunnel to exit Manhattan. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by STEPHANIE KEITH / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)")
A protest outside a parking garage near Chinatown in Lower Manhattan descended into chaos on Saturday after demonstrators—angered by reports of a planned US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation—clashed with police and federal agents.
According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), a group of protesters gathered around a garage on Centre and Howard Streets just before noon, blocking entrances, shouting slogans such as “ICE out of New York,” and obstructing a convoy of unmarked vans believed to be linked to ICE.
Witnesses reported the crowd used objects like trash bins, planters, and barricades to block vehicles; some hurled debris toward officers as tensions escalated.
The NYPD, which stated it was not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, intervened after multiple warnings for protesters to disperse went unheeded. Multiple people were taken into custody, charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing government operations.
A spokesperson for the federal US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later suggested that the protest had been amplified by social-media calls for disruption, claiming that some demonstrators were intent on blocking a legitimate enforcement operation.
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View AllLocal community leaders and immigrant-rights advocates condemned the enforcement actions. According to one organizer, the presence of masked agents in tactical gear sparked fear among vendors and residents, many of whom viewed the raid as an overreach impacting livelihoods rather than public safety.
The confrontation marks the latest flashpoint in an ongoing wave of federal immigration enforcement sweeps across the city, particularly targeting neighbourhoods like Chinatown and its iconic Canal Street shopping area.
What’s driving the hardline response?
On November 26, two National Guard members stationed in Washington, D.C. as part of a broader deployment for domestic security duties were shot near the White House. One of them died and the other was critically injured. The suspect was identified as an Afghan national admitted to the US under a previous resettlement programme.
In response, the US government announced a broad escalation of immigration enforcement. Among other actions, processing of some asylum and visa applications—particularly for Afghan nationals—was suspended, as part of what officials describe as an “immigration security review.”