U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke.
Office of Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke
Caribbean-American Democratic U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke has joined Caribbean immigration advocates in New York in strongly condemning a raid on Tuesday on Canal Street in Lower Manhattan’s Chinatown by agents from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and the US Department of Homeland Security.
Clarke and immigration advocates said that the federal agents descended on the neighborhood, detaining street vendors and community members.
“On seemingly nothing more than a radical-right influencer’s instructions, New York City tragically faced a reality yesterday that too many other communities across our nation have known since Donald Trump took power: ICE goons descending upon our streets, bringing the same chaos, violence, and pain that follows them everywhere they go,” Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, told Caribbean Life on Wednesday.
“Our city is defined by the solidarity and compassion our neighbors share among one another,” added the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. “The havoc New Yorkers have been accused of harboring is, at every level, a lie. But of course, the orchestrators of this attack on Canal Street know that.
“In the absence of the disorder that the president’s false narratives rely upon, this administration and its goons are hellbent on creating their own by any means necessary,” Clarke continued. “We see their endgame. We know they will fail.
“No matter what these thugs and their masters might have to say about it, New York City will always be a sanctuary to the oppressed and powerless,” the U.S. Rep. said. “Our doors will always be open to those seeking refuge and safety. And they will always be closed to Donald Trump and his agents of hatred.”
On Tuesday, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), elected officials, member organizations, and community leaders held an emergency rally in response to the raid.
“Today’s raid on Canal Street was a horrifying display of federal overreach and authoritarian tactics,” NYIC President and CEO Murad Awawdeh told Caribbean Life.
NYIC is an umbrella policy and advocacy organization representing over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York.
“ICE descended on Manhattan’s Chinatown with military-style vehicles, masked agents and riot gear to target street vendors trying to make a living,” Awawdeh said. “This operation had nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with terrorizing immigrant families and communities.
“Federal agents created a violent spectacle, tackling bystanders to the ground and using force against New Yorkers simply for doing what they do every day,” he added. “Federal agents storming our streets and targeting peaceful community members is unacceptable.
“Instead of creating pathways for citizenship, restoring legal work authorizations or supporting the immigrant entrepreneurs who enrich our city and culture, the Trump administration and its lackeys are wasting taxpayer money to spread fear and traumatize our communities,” Awawdeh continued.
He said, “This is exactly why our cities need to reinforce sanctuary policies and why New York State must pass the New York for All Act to stop local police from colluding in these reckless federal enforcement tactics.
“Our communities deserve safety, dignity, and due process – not fear and violence that tear families apart,” Awawdeh demanded.
A New York group called the Street Vendor Project condemned Tuesday’s raid.
“Yesterday’s immigration raid targeting Canal Street‘s West African street vendors is a disgraceful federal escalation of the city’s status quo,” said the group in a statement on Wednesday. “We have been sounding the alarm for a year about the threats New York City street vendors face under this current administration.
“Yesterday’s raid is inextricably tied to the city’s failure to reform the street vending system,” it added. “Every time a vendor goes out to work without the protections a business license affords them, they are viewed as criminals with a target on their back.”
The Street Vendor Project said that at least five of the nine individuals ICE detained are street vendors, several of whom have worked in New York City for 20-plus years.
The group claimed that ICE “racially profiled anyone walking by who ‘looked like an African vendor’ – demanding their IDs, their passports, and running their information through their system.
“Seeing street vendors targeted and kidnapped by ICE agents was nothing short of terrifying,” it said.
