Tensions flared in Lower Manhattan, New York City, as demonstrators clashed with New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers outside Federal Plaza during a protest against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The demonstration, which lasted for hours, resulted in more than 20 arrests as confrontations spilled into the streets.
The protest was fueled by recent ICE crackdowns on immigrants in New York and elsewhere in the United States. According to reports, ICE has been rounding up migrants near courthouses in Lower Manhattan all week, prompting fierce resistance from immigrant rights groups.
ICE’s enforcement tactics, including arrests at immigration court hearings, have intensified under the administration of President Donald Trump, with over 100,000 migrants detained so far.
The demonstration escalated following Friday’s high-profile arrest of Joaquin Rosario Espinal, a Dominican Republic migrant, inside a Manhattan federal courthouse.
Espinal was detained by ICE agents after his immigration case was dismissed. His arrest sparked outrage among activists, who accuse ICE of trapping migrants at court hearings.
Similar protests erupted in Southern California, where demonstrators confronted federal agents in Paramount after an ICE raid.
In New York, protesters expressed frustration not only with ICE but also with the NYPD, accusing local law enforcement of collaborating with federal immigration authorities.
At one point, activists attempted to block a white van suspected of transporting detained migrants, forming a human chain to obstruct its departure.
“We won’t stand by while our neighbors are taken away,” one protester said, echoing the rallying cry of the movement.
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