ICE agents have never been afraid of arresting and harassing people regardless of legality. With the increasing number of reports about people getting into trouble for fighting back against ICE, more and more citizens have grown apprehensive toward both the DHS and ICE. However, there are still plenty of people who wish to stand up against injustice. Recently, in New York, ICE agents decided to go to Chinatown to investigate vendors allegedly selling counterfeit goods. Many people understandably saw this as yet another one of ICE’s attempts to arrest innocent individuals to fill their ridiculously high deportation quotas. Instead of simply standing by and watching, a large group of New York citizens decided to take a stand and tried to drive the ICE agents away.
In one video, you can see protesters crowding around the group of agents while chanting, “ICE out of New York.” Some even stood in front of federal vehicles to prevent them from leaving. Of course, with such a commotion, tensions quickly escalated, and ICE agents called for backup. More federal officers arrived to assist, and unfortunately, the agents used the situation as an opportunity to arrest several protesters, claiming they were obstructing law enforcement.
In the same footage, a man can be seen being pushed to the ground and handcuffed by ICE agents. Despite several New Yorkers being arrested, internet users in general still approved of what these citizens did. Many agreed that people had to take a stand against ICE and Trump.
“I just want to point out that it’s women and femme-presenting people leading the charge in that video. We all have a role to play in defending our rights and defending those who are in our communities. Do what you can, how you can,” one user wrote. Another commented, “The government is coming to our city, folks. We knew this was going to happen. At the end of the day, this is our community and we are neighbors. Help one another, support one another. We will overcome this.”
Some, however, remarked that with how things are going, the tension and aggression between citizens, ICE, and the Trump administration will only continue to grow. A few expressed concern about what might happen in the future when things reach a breaking point. “Trump wants a confrontation. Sometime soon he will get one. I am not at all sure what comes after that,” one user said.
Of course, there were also MAGA supporters in the comments defending the ICE agents, with many even calling for the deportation of protesters for daring to fight back. Others quickly replied, pointing out that the agents were not even deporting undocumented immigrants but instead targeting anyone they deemed not white enough.
“They are randomly pulling people based on how they look. They have not identified any of their vendors. This is Nazi stuff. You can put the ‘law’ argument to rest. We know exactly who you are,” one user replied to a MAGA supporter.
