On Saturday afternoon in Lower Manhattan, several protesters were taken into custody by the New York City Police Department after a demonstration outside a parking garage near Centre and Howard Streets. The protesters had come together to block access to a facility used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying they wanted to prevent a planned immigration enforcement action.
“We’re here to stand up for our communities, and we’re here to stand up for our neighbors,” said one protestor, Amanda Holden. “We do not agree with ripping families apart, with ICE ripping families apart. We’ll do anything we can to stop it, and that includes putting our bodies on the line.”
Video footage from the scene shows protesters forming a human barrier to prevent ICE vans from leaving the garage. Protesters claim that some people were pepper-sprayed or hit.
“There were protesters that had been pepper-sprayed, sprayed with something else that looked kind of like it was orange, and then there were protesters that had bloody faces,” Holden said.
A spokesperson with the Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s team pointed out that the city remains a sanctuary jurisdiction and criticized the harsh tactics used.
“The Mayor-elect has made it clear — including to the President — that these raids are cruel and inhumane, and fail to advance genuine public safety,” they stated. “New York City’s more than three million immigrants are central to our city’s strength, vitality, and success, and the Mayor-elect remains steadfast in his commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of every single New Yorker, upholding our sanctuary laws, and deescalation rather than use of unnecessary force.”
The New York Immigration Coalition argued that the protest was a defensive act by residents. They called for the immediate release of those detained.
“Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered today to stop ICE from attacking our neighbors. Instead of protecting the residents of our city, the NYPD violently confronted and arrested protesters. New York is a sanctuary city, and the NYPD has no business collaborating with ICE,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO of New York Immigration Coalition.
“The NYPD must immediately release the New Yorkers who they arrested, and stop all collaboration with ICE. Our police force should be using its resources to improve the public safety for all New Yorkers,” he continued.
The protest comes during tension between federal immigration enforcement and New York’s supportive stance toward immigrants. Just last month, ICE agents conducted a raid along Canal Street that prompted another round of protests. This shows the pressure that both activists and law enforcement are under in the city.
