NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says she doesn’t need help from the National Guard after cops arrested 86 anti-ICE activists in lower Manhattan — with more protests expected this week.
“We certainly got this,” Tisch said Wednesday morning on Fox 5’s “Good Day New York.”
“I spent the weekend reaching out to our federal partners with a very clear message that the NYPD will have this under control. We have plans in place, and if things escalate we can bring in cops from all over the city to assist.”
“We have an army of 34,000 officers,” she added. “We’re prepared for everything that comes our way.”
The Trump administration has deployed the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles against the wishes of Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom to quell protests that had flashes of violence. The state is suing to block the deployment.
Tisch does not expect a similar scenario to play out in New York.
“The NYPD has a responsibility to maintain safety and order, and we are not going to abdicate that responsibility,” Tisch told Fox 5. “We are fully able to police these protests and do it well.”
More than 2,500 protesters showed up in Foley Square on Tuesday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s new tactics of rounding up and arresting people coming out of immigration court. It was the second day of protests at Foley Square.
Holding signs and screaming “F–k you! F–k ICE!” and “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist U.S.A.!” some protesters marched to Washington Square Park while a large number stayed at Foley Square to vent their frustrations with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Some protesters who remained near ICE headquarters at 26 Federal Plaza began to throw “litter baskets and rubbish in the streets,” Tisch said.
“We did have a group of about 200 protesters looking to sow a little chaos and disorder — and the NYPD will not tolerate that,” Tisch said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Some of the protesters threw bottles at cops and chucked traffic cones into the street. By the end of the night, cops had rounded up 86 protesters.
Cops said 52 of the protesters received summonses. The remaining 34 were criminally charged. Of that number, 30 received desk appearance tickets, meaning that they have to show up at court at a later date. Four of the protesters were sent to court, with two facing felony charges, cops said.
Officers started to clash with protesters around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, with cops zip-tying demonstrators who were then put into white police vans.
More anti-ICE demonstrations are expected throughout the week, and a mass protest is scheduled for Saturday.
Many of the protests playing out in New York and around the country were sparked by horrific images of the National Guard and Marines being called in to quell anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles.
Originally Published: June 11, 2025 at 11:05 AM EDT
