ICE agents make busts on Canal Street in NYC’s Chinatown in effort to crackdown on illegal vendors

Federal immigration authorities arrested multiple illegal vendors on Tuesday afternoon on Canal Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown, law enforcement sources said.

ICE agents descended on the block between Lafayette and Centre Street, which is typically crowded with merchants selling knockoff designer bags and other items, around 4 p.m., according to the sources.

Some vendors tried to flee, with some seen running and falling as agents closed in, according to WABC.

The Post witnessed agents checking IDs and taking about five vendors into custody.

“I saw this live in real time and real history,” said Manhattan resident Kaden Cummings, 23. “They just started grabbing people and putting them into vans.”

Edwin Jean, who is from Brooklyn, told The Post he was briefly cuffed by the feds when he refused to hand over his ID.

He then became enraged and began swearing at the agents.

“I’m not doing nothing, I’m from Brooklyn,” Jean said. “They asked me for my ID and I didn’t give it to them so they cuffed me.”

“This is the first time this has happened over here in Manhattan. They never come over here.”

By early Tuesday evening, about 100 people had gathered outside 26 Federal Plaza to protest the arrests.

In a post on X, the NYPD said it “had no involvement in the federal operation that took place on Canal Street this afternoon.”

Representatives from ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.