Less than 24 hours after federal officials descended on Canal Street in New York City’s Chinatown district, the scene there appeared to be relatively subdued Wednesday afternoon.
Nine allegedly undocumented individuals were detained, after federal agents targeted Canal Street in what the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement described as “a targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation that focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods.” Video footage from the raid showed individuals being wrestled to the ground and strong-armed by masked federal agents.
According to ICE, some of the nine had prior “instances” of robbery, burglary, domestic violence, assaulting law enforcement, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, drug possession and forgery.
In addition, four protesters were arrested on charges of assaulting law and enforcement, and another was arrested on an obstruction charge, based on information provided by ICE.
The New York City Police Department had “no involvement” with the federal operation, according to a NYPD spokesperson.
Canal Street in lower Manhattan has long been a hotbed — and destination — for shoppers in search of knockoff designer handbags, belts, sunglasses and watches. Under the administration of then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a 2008 crackdown on the area’s counterfeiters — with federal agents and police raiding 32 vendors selling knockoff luxury goods — led to $1 million worth of counterfeit goods being seized.
But more recently, price-minded shoppers have flocked there for fake luxury good replicas.
On Wednesday afternoon, there were no signs of any designer knockoffs being openly sold in and around the blocks between Lafayette and Center Streets. Counterfeit goods are usually sold on blankets that are splayed out on the sidewalk or on tables. There also did not appear to be many hawkers, who stand on the sidewalk with binders filled with photographs of different items that are later retrieved from a storefront, storage bin or other location upon request. Others carry the knockoffs in a tote bag to show potential interested parties.
One street vendor, who preferred to only identify himself as “Michael,” said he witnessed Tuesday’s raid. Suggesting that more local vendors are carrying their U.S. passport cards due to fear of being stopped by ICE officials, he took out his wallet to show his own. “Even my mom called me to say, ‘Make sure that you carry your passport,’” he said. “They say they’re going after [undocumented people], but they might be going after American citizens. Those are your own people. That’s not right.”
He questioned why federal employees, referring to ICE officials, would wear face masks. “What are you scared of? Why do you cover your face? From what I know, if anyone works for the federal government or the FBI, you have to have a clean look — professional,” he said.
Motioning toward the atypically uncrowded Canal Street around noontime, he speculated not as many international tourists are visiting New York City as in the past. “It has to change for the better,” he said.
Earlier this year, New York City Tourism + Conventions reduced its 2025 forecast for international travelers by 17 percent with 2 million fewer tourists expected this year versus last.
One employee with a work visa, standing outside of the Canal Street store KT4, who declined to be identified by name, said he saw Tuesday’s incident. A crowd of people running along Canal Street and some observers “took some pictures,” one person was apprehended and placed in a vehicle. He said the individuals that were taken away usually sell goods on the sidewalk.
One exception was a woman wearing a pink baseball hat imprinted with “Hush Hush,” who approached two female pedestrians to show them accessories. After agreeing on a price, she motioned them to follow her. After heading north toward Walker Street, she backtracked after seeing a parked New York Police Department cruiser. The trio then ducked into a pizza shop, where they exchanged several bags and the cash payment. Seeing what was unfolding, a passerby walked in and yelled at the woman in the baseball hat to stop selling there.
Approached for an interview, he declined to give his name, but said he oversees some of the buildings in the area. Estimating that the area usually has at least 300 counterfeiters out on an average day, he said, “They’re not out here. They’ll probably be back on the weekend. It’s been going on forever.”
Claiming the counterfeit seller knows not to sell the goods in another business’ establishment, he said: “They know my schedule. They wait until I’m not around or when I go home.”
All three women declined to be interviewed.
Banju Fassa, a Canal Street vendor for the past 20 or 25 years, was uncertain whether the raid would change the landscape for those who sell counterfeit goods. An employee in a Canal Street storefront, who preferred to be identified as “Le,” said about 50 people were running back and forth on Canal Street the day before. He speculated the raid might make people cautious about being in the area. “Even if it’s not an immigration matter, it’s like secret policing that I feel people should be scared of. It’s just like fearmongers everywhere, but that’s what the [Trump] administration wants.”
Another street vendor of 20-plus years, who watched the operation, described the situation as “sad,” and expects that “people, who are here illegally, will be nervous and afraid to come out.” But those such as herself, who are in the U.S. legally, will just come out, she said.
Planning to travel out of the country next week to visit a sick relative, she said, “I hope they are not going to block me on my way back. But your life cannot be a concern. My life is a must. Everywhere I go I live it fully.”
Her husband described his job as an Uber driver as “running around for America.” His wife laughed, “We’re always running around for America, doing all of the chores. But we’re still not enough. What is going on with this country?”
Her husband laughed, “That’s the reality of America right now. But the people are very nice. Yesterday [in Chinatown] people were protesting hard against ICE.”
His wife agreed, “There are still a lot of good people in this country — no matter what is going on in this country. I saw that [Tuesday]. That was the silver lining in the sky for me.”
Nearby another street vendor, who has a work visa and requested anonymity, said he was not concerned about ICE. As he set up his table for the day with sunglasses he had bought from a wholesale company, the vendor said he sometimes moves to other locations, depending on how business is.
Tai Lee, who has run a Chinatown newsstand for more than 50 years, said of Wednesday’s moderate pedestrian traffic, “Maybe people are scared.”
