A raid by federal immigration authorities on Saturday in New York City was thwarted by about 200 protesters, several of whom were arrested after scuffles with police officers.
The episode was the latest in which citizen activists have stood up to agents enforcing Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda through targeted raids in various cities across the country after his second presidency began in January.
Similar recent actions by federal authorities elsewhere, including in Charlotte and Chicago, have been met with resistance by citizens opposed to the administration’s escalating program of detentions and deportations.
According to the New York Times, Saturday’s confrontation took place on the edge of Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood, where US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents were assembling with counterparts from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The newspaper reported that scuffles with police took place at a parking garage in lower Manhattan beginning in the late morning, with some protesters blocking the government vehicles from leaving with makeshift barricades including garbage bags and metal barriers.