New York, New York - US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swarmed onto a busy street in Manhattan on Tuesday in a large-scale raid that drew widespread condemnation.

Masked ICE agents were deployed to Canal Street in Chinatown, an area known for its street food vendors, where they began brutally tying up local store owners and dragging them into police vehicles.

The dramatic scenes were caught on camera and showed immediate and fierce backlash from bystanders, who confronted yelled the agents.

Assistant Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin was quick to defend the detentions, claiming that those who were arrested were criminals "selling counterfeit goods."

"During this law enforcement operation, rioters who were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement," McLaughlin said in a statement.

Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams told the Daily Beast that his administration had nothing to do with the abductions and said that "undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue their American Dreams should not be the target of law enforcement."

New Yorkers were quick to condemn the violent arrests and slammed President Donald Trump's administration for its brutal anti-immigration campaign.

"Federal agents from ICE and HSI – some in military fatigues and masks – descended on Chinatown today in an aggressive and reckless raid on immigrant street vendors," Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wrote on X.

"Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop," he said.

Activist groups also came out against the raid, calling on people to peacefully demonstrate in the streets to demand an end to ICE's attacks on New York's migrant communities.

The People's Forum announced an "emergency action" demonstration in Foley Square in response to the abductions, set for the evening of October 22.

"We will NOT tolerate ICE's terror in our communities," the People's Forum wrote on X. "NO to ICE! NO to criminalization!"