Overview
- DHS described a targeted Canal Street operation focused on counterfeit sales that resulted in nine arrests, identifying five men from Senegal and one each from Mali, Mauritania and Guinea as being in the country illegally.
- The agency said five protesters were detained during the action—four on allegations of assaulting law enforcement and one for obstruction—then released pending further review by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
- Sidewalks that were largely empty the next day saw a small number of vendors return by Thursday, with thinner crowds and subdued bargaining compared with typical days.
- Advocacy groups and some local officials condemned the raid as harmful to immigrant livelihoods and pushed for legal education and services rather than immigration-led enforcement at points of sale.
- Some brick-and-mortar owners welcomed clearer sidewalks, as others called for local—not federal—responses, while experts noted repeated crackdowns have failed to curb a trade that recently drew renewed attention after a Turning Point USA contributor posted video from the area.