Bushwick Neighbors Clash With ICE, Pepper Spray Reported

"Volunteer-run accounts and neighborhood groups now act as an informal alert system for immigration enforcement, flagging sightings, organizing observers, and rallying support, as reported by News 12 Brooklyn. The Instagram account NYC ICE Watch and similar efforts have become go-to tools for residents in Bushwick and other neighborhoods who want a real-time heads-up when they believe ICE is in the area."

"The confrontation kicked off around 6 p.m. near Bushwick Avenue and Suydam Street, where ICE agents detained a man outside an apartment, leaving his wife and two very young children behind. Photographer Neil Constantine, who documented the scene, said one child appeared to be about two or three years old and the other roughly three months old, and recalled that the mother was bawling."

"Video and photos from the scene show neighbors leaning into chaos-as-defense: blowing whistles, forming a human wall in the street, and dragging construction barriers in front of an ICE vehicle as it tried to leave the block. Activists then followed ICE vehicles into Clinton Hill, catching up with them around Washington and Willoughby Avenues."

A Tuesday evening ICE detention in Bushwick escalated into a community confrontation when neighbors mobilized to intervene. Federal immigration officers detained a man outside an apartment building, separating him from his wife and two young children. Residents responded by forming human barriers, blocking vehicles with construction materials, and pursuing ICE agents into Clinton Hill. Volunteer-operated social media accounts like NYC ICE Watch have emerged as informal alert systems, enabling neighbors to track and respond to immigration enforcement in real time. The incident resulted in pepper spray deployment and a criminal summons issued by NYPD. City officials have not yet commented on the event.

Read at Hoodline