ICE Director Confirms Increased Immigration Arrests in NYC

On Wednesday, Todd Lyons, the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced that immigration arrests in New York City are set to rise, particularly following recent confrontations between protesters and officers during enforcement actions.

“We’re definitely going to ramp up ICE arrests in New York, especially with so many criminals and undocumented individuals being released,” Lyons mentioned in an interview. He emphasized that these operations would be based on intelligence rather than random selections, asserting, “We’re not just picking people off the streets. Our presence on Canal Street was driven by specific criminal intelligence and activities.”

The Department of Homeland Security was contacted for further clarification. They indicated that ICE had conducted a focused operation on Canal Street targeting criminal actions linked to counterfeit goods.

During this operation, four American citizens were arrested, as noted by Representative Daniel Goldman at a press briefing. They were held at 26 Federal Plaza for nearly a full day, and one was released about half an hour after the meeting concluded.

“ICE isn’t permitted to detain American citizens,” Goldman stated.

In response to inquiries about the American detainees, a DHS statement highlighted that, “Additionally, four individuals were arrested for violent actions against law enforcement, and another faced charges of obstruction.”

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin further detailed, “ICE detained nine undocumented individuals with criminal records involving robbery, domestic violence, assaults on law enforcement, forgery, and drug-related offenses. Most of these individuals had been released by the Biden administration.”

During the mid-afternoon enforcement on Canal Street, protesters confronted ICE personnel, pushing back against undercover agents while chanting phrases like “Get ICE out of New York” and “Fascists!”

Footage from NewsNation, a network affiliated with The Hill, captured moments of the arrests. One protester was seen being pinned to the ground and secured with zip ties, subsequently taken away by police, face down and covered.