A significant federal operation unfolded in New York City’s Chinatown on Tuesday, leading to the arrest of nine West African migrants residing illegally in the U.S. This information was confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as reported by Fox News.

During the raid, four demonstrators were also apprehended, accused of obstructing ICE officers and hurling objects at them.

Authorities stated that the detained migrants hail from Senegal, Mali, and Guinea, and were allegedly involved in the sale of counterfeit goods in the neighborhood.

ICE noted that the protesters who were taken into custody have previous criminal records.

As federal agents carried out the immigration sweep on Canal Street in Chinatown, protesters gathered on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that ICE and federal partners conducted a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” on Canal Street focused on criminal activity related to the sale of alleged counterfeit goods. 

“During this law enforcement operation, rioters who were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties, including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement,” McLaughlin wrote in a statement. “Already, one rioter has been arrested for assault on a federal officer.”

During a news conference Tuesday night, Murad Awawdeh, vice president of advocacy at the New York Immigration Coalition, said between 15 and 40 vendors were arrested, and at least two locals were taken into custody for protesting and blocking their arrest efforts.

City officials quickly moved to distance themselves from the raid.

Federal agents conduct an immigration sweep on Canal Street in Chinatown, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)

Mayor Eric Adams’ press secretary, Kayla Mamelak Altus, told Fox News that New York City “never cooperates with federal law enforcement on civil deportation matters, in accordance with local laws,” and had “no involvement in this matter.”

“Mayor Adams has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue the American Dream should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals,” she said.

Protestors confront federal agents as they walk down Lafayette Street after an immigration sweep on Canal Street through Chinatown, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in New York City.  (Jake Offenhartz/AP)

Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani weighed in on X, calling the Manhattan raid “aggressive and reckless.”

“Federal agents from ICE and HSI—some in military fatigues and masks—descended on Chinatown today in an aggressive and reckless raid on immigrant street vendors,” Mamdani wrote in a post. “Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop.”