"The US Department of Homeland Security proudly announced that it had caught a number of people it referred to as illegal aliens during Tuesday's raid in Chinatown one that drew the voiceferous wrath of New Yorkers who recorded the spectacle. DHS said the operation was a targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation by ICE and its federal partners to take down a number of street vendors on Canal Street, with a focus on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods."
"Never before have we recalled the last time the federal government sent heavily armed officers in armored vehicles down Canal Street to bust merchants of counterfeit merchandise. It was the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to swat a fly. Such raids are usually left to the NYPD, which does not operate in such stings with that heavy a hand. And yet the NYPD says it had no part in the federal operation Tuesday, nor was it even contacted by the DHS in advance."
"It's outrageous that our city's government was kept in the dark while federal agents operated. It's outrageous that the NYPD was left to deal with the situation created by ICE agents who, as they have done for months at Federal Plaza, roughly apprehend their targets and violate the constitutional rights of those who peacefully object."
DHS reported that ICE conducted an intelligence-driven operation in Chinatown to apprehend individuals described as illegal aliens and to target street vendors selling counterfeit goods on Canal Street. Federal agents deployed heavily armed officers and armored vehicles for the raid, a level of force described as disproportionate compared with typical NYPD enforcement. The NYPD and City Hall say they were not notified or involved. Similar federal actions at Federal Plaza reportedly included rough apprehensions and alleged violations of constitutional rights of peaceful objectors. The operation is characterized as part of a broader pattern of aggressive, unilateral federal enforcement.
Read at www.amny.com
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