Multiple demonstrators were taken into custody Saturday afternoon during a protest against Immigration and Customs enforcement in Lower Manhattan in response to ongoing migrant arrests this week.
Cops responded to outside immigration court around noon at 26 Federal Plaza where protesters were sitting in the middle of the street blocking traffic. Officers ordered the protestors to clear the roadway. Numerous protesters were taken into custody when they didn’t comply and were issued summonses, cops said.
Demonstrators were chanting during the protest “No ICE! No KKK! No fascist USA” at the ICE agents.
Around 17 people were taken into custody, according to ABC7.
The protests come after federal agents have been rounding up migrants all week at the immigration courthouse.
ICE agents also arrested migrants after they checked in at an Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office hearing on Elk St. Wednesday afternoon, according to the New York Legal Assistance group.
“It’s essentially a trap,” Allison Cutler, supervising attorney from New York Legal Assistance Group’s Immigrant Protection Unit, told the Daily News Wednesday. “Most of the folks who are already on ISAP tend to already have final orders of removal, so ICE would essentially … consider [it] as an easy target. So they are already checking in, they are already having appointments, most of them have ankle monitors, so they are monitoring their GPS and locations.”
On Tuesday, around 16 people were detained at the Elk St. immigration check-in office, according to The City.
On Friday morning, two people were pinned to the ground and arrested by ICE agents who were waiting in the hallways outside federal immigration courtrooms.
Dominican Republic migrant Joaquin Rosario Espinal left a courtroom after a routine check-in around 12:35 p.m. after getting his case dismissed, when at least six federal agents waiting outside swarmed him. Two agents grabbed Rosario Espinal by his shirt collar, with one tumbling to the ground along with him.
“Stop fighting! Stop resisting! Stop resisting!” an agent yelled at him.
Multiple agents then turned Rosario Espinal around, pinning him to the ground before handcuffing him.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security claimed that, during the arrest, Rosario Espinal resisted arrest and punched an officer. Another woman was arrested after allegedly assaulting an officer, too.
“Our officers are doing their jobs by removing public safety threats and enforcing our nation’s immigration laws,” McLaughlin said. “Assaulting, resisting, impeding or harassing ICE officers is against the law. Unfortunately, our ICE officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults while carrying out arrests. The violence against ICE must end.”
The crackdown, dubbed Operation At Large comes after White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said recently that the administration was setting a goal of 3,000 arrests by ICE each day and that the number could go higher, according to the Associated Press. CBS reported ICE has been logging about 2,000 daily arrests this week, with a total of more than 100,000 migrants taken into custody so far during Trump’s second term in office.
Originally Published: June 7, 2025 at 8:59 PM EDT
