(NEW YORK) — After federal agents carried out a joint Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood on Tuesday, a federal official said the city will see an “increase in ICE arrests” because there are “so many criminal illegal” immigrants.
“You will see us making those criminal arrests to make New York safe again. It’s definitely intelligence driven, it’s not random. We aren’t pulling people off the street. There was a specific reason based on criminal intelligence and criminal activity that we showed up on Canal Street,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox News on Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, a large law enforcement presence was seen on Canal Street, a prominent hub for shopping in Lower Manhattan, with ICE and federal partners from multiple agencies conducting a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” that was “focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods,” Assistant Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Tuesday.
Vendors were seen packing up their tables and attempting to flee the area, which is known for merchants selling designer knockoffs, New York ABC station WABC reported.
“The nine arrested, their rap sheets are long,” Lyons told Fox News. “Forgery, possession of drugs, drug trafficking, robbery, assault. These are criminal aliens that were being targeted. We do these based on criminal intelligence and that’s what we had.”
The targeted enforcement is in contrast to U.S. Border Patrol, which has been deployed in Chicago and Los Angeles and does conduct random enforcement actions.
Lyons said store owners had been complaining about the retail for some time.
“If you look at the video, everything was fine with the officers talking to those individuals and making arrests until violent protesters showed up,” Lyons said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the New York City Police Department said on X it had “no involvement in the federal operation that took place on Canal Street.”
A spokesperson for City Hall said in a statement it also had “no involvement in this matter.”
“Mayor Adams has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue the American Dream should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals,” the statement said.
If the circumstances escalate and an individual assaults or interferes with a legal law enforcement action, Mayor Eric Adams has instructed the NYPD to intervene, a source familiar with the situation told ABC News.
Crime rates are at record lows in New York City, according to the latest police data.
Over the first nine months of 2025, the NYPD reported citywide shooting incidents were down more than 20% (553 vs. 693) year-to-date, their lowest level ever.
Murders are also down citywide by more than 17.7% year-to-date and burglaries dropped 3.8% (9,410 vs. 9,783) for the year, the second-lowest level in recorded history.
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
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