Alexandra I agree. What world are we living in? — Linda Pollak on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

They park their cars with fake out of state licence plates.( North Carolina etc.) I just saw one vendor walking to Broadway with his goods while the king pin ( see him every day) sat on the hydrant and shouted out while the NYPD car pulled up. There were half a dozen Africans in the middle of transactions and they are not budging! Nor was the king pin. I guess when they saw it was only the NYPD they just carried on. — R. on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

Even the NY Times reported facts showing the action was not a random raid: "Dozens of officers milled on the roadway, partially obstructing traffic and keeping news photographers at bay, as others checked the identities of the men they had detained, comparing them against headshots carried by the agents on a piece of paper. Some of the men were released shortly after." The NY Times also supplemented its reporting with information from D.H.S.: " [...] On Wednesday, a day after the raid, D.H.S. released mug shots of the nine men arrested, who hailed from Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. Many entered the country during the Biden administration, the agency said, while others overstayed their visas or had been ordered deported by a judge years ago. "Five of them had previously been arrested in the United States, the agency said, for charges that included counterfeiting, drug possession, robbery, assault and domestic violence. [...] "Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, defended the raid as 'intelligence driven,' adding that 'It’s not random, we’re just not pulling people off the street.' [...]" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/nyregion/nyc-raid-canal-st-agents-ice.html — James Bogardus on Nine arrested after ICE raids counterfeit vendors

When I read these shockingly cruel comments, I feel I don't know who my neighbors are anymore. Everyone is entitled to due process. — Alexandra Neil on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

The vendors were selling counterfeits on the public sidewalk because the law compelled private landlords to evict store tenants who sold counterfeits inside stores. Why should the public provide space for the illegal sales of counterfeit goods by illegal aliens? — James Bogardus on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

Yay!!! — DaniB on Duane Park Patisserie caught in bureaucratic snafu

After years and weeks of complaining on here yall finally got yall wish granted. I can’t lie I hate counterfeits but that was always the stigma and dna of canal street for as long as I can remember. I think the weed selling was just plain horrendous by church and canal that needed to go for sure. What will be Canal’s new identity any ideas? — L.Smith on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

We def need a sexual harasser for mayor. — DaniB on What Cuomo has said about the White Street jail

How are they throwing out due process? Due process is the process that's due. When you see an immigration judge and he issues a final order of removal, the next step in the process is you leave the country. That's one of the guys arrested (had his hearing in 2008 - still here!) For the others, they're about to get all the due process they're entitled to, and then a flight home. — StreetWalker on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

I agree ICE was not the best agency to go in there. It should have been dealt with NYPD, with Fed help (since counterfeiting is a Federal/international crime) long long time ago. I have to admit, though, it will be nice to be able to walk through there without the pushing and shoving. — StreetWalker on Nine arrested after ICE raids counterfeit vendors

Those nine arrestees are about to get their due process now. Most importantly, we're about to get this corner of our neighborhood back. — StreetWalker on Nine arrested after ICE raids counterfeit vendors

Mamdani also said the crack down on the illegal vendors is harassing immigrants who are doing their work, they should focus on ‘serious’ crimes. — R. on What Cuomo has said about the White Street jail

I agree with your sentiments completely. How long were we going to wait for the New York Police to do nothing at all about it? I would suggest that Representative Goldman read the Tribeca Citizen to understand how frustrated the community is regarding this issue. This may be the first (and only) time I agree with the Trump Administration. — Elizabeth on Nine arrested after ICE raids counterfeit vendors

Go Cuomo! We need a real mayor, not a campus activist. — R. on What Cuomo has said about the White Street jail

The "protestors" who showed up have no skin in this game--they don't live here and have not had to walk through the open-air loose weed market or seen the garbage left behind on our streets day after day. This is truly a quality of life issue that has gone on for TOO LONG. Ironically, there is a Zoom Community Roundtable that is set for this afternoon at 4 pm to discuss this. It was originally scheduled for Yom Kippur, but was changed to this afternoon. Unfortunately, the focus will most certainly now be on the arrests of these "upstanding citizens" as opposed to protecting the legitimate residents of downtown NYC. Please register if you are able to attend to voice your concern: https://sohobroadway.org/join-soho-broadway-initiative-for-a-community-roundtable-regarding-street-vending-enforcement/ — Concerned Citizen on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

Desperate problem requires desperate measures. Do nothing is no longer an option no matter how you justify with the distorted ideology and misplaced empathy. Take back our sidewalk, make civility great again. — R. on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

bureaucracy nightmare from New York State! we've emerged from the permit quagmire and are back open! thanks for everyone's patience and support! — Madeline Lanciani on Duane Park Patisserie caught in bureaucratic snafu

Lets have due process and see the evidence for what you seem to believe is fact — amanda on Nine arrested after ICE raids counterfeit vendors

Totally disagree. ‘Disheartening’? This is what the rule of law looks like when the elected officials turn a blind eye. What’s disheartening is five years on they are still paralyzed by the situation and can’t do more than the daily cat and mouse game and occasional show raid, enough is enough. Hypocrisy and confused ideology have no place in sustaining a city as complex as New York. We should be thankful some degree of law and order is still possible. — R. on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

Larry, I agree, arresting the local distributors of counterfeit goods is only a short-term fix. To really make a dent, law enforcement should be identifying and going after the suppliers — the companies that procure the goods in the first place and to which most of the money likely flows. — SW on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

I walked down Broadway and Canal last night, the criminal bazaar was gone, so refreshing!!! — Reademan on Nine arrested after ICE raids counterfeit vendors

I've spent a little time studying fascism. The good news: since they are built on paranoia, they'll end up turning inwards to internecine battles and destroy themselves too. The bad news: it's unlikely to happen until they're done with the 'others'. — malcolm on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

Ken, Most if not all the Senegalese and other Africans are black, and Chinese are Chinese. This is not a racism issue. Politicizing this doesn’t change the fact that selling counterfeit goods and drugs on the sidewalk is a crime. Black, brown and otherwise. — R. on ICE agents raid street vendors on Canal and Lafayette

Thank you. Also incredibly disappointed by this. — malcolm on Nine arrested after ICE raids counterfeit vendors

Let me understand some of the comments here, A group of criminals who entered the country illegally (without process) committed crimes openly daily, city Council laws forced NYPD to look away creating an open air counterfeiting drug dealing market that metastasized way past Canal Street was finally cleaned up by federal forces (good and Thank you!) and there are complaints about hurting the sensitivities of the arrested criminals? Who you should be complaining about are the local politicians who have passed laws to allow this cesspool to exist. — S on Nine arrested after ICE raids counterfeit vendors