U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided Chinatown's Canal Street on Tuesday afternoon, detaining several street vendors in an operation that drew immediate and fierce backlash from bystanders and immigrant advocates.

The operation began at about 3 p.m. in the area of Centre and Canal Streets where ICE agents showed up to question street vendors.

Videos taken by amNewYork show a crowd of New Yorkers surrounding the federal agents as they carried out the enforcement action in Lower Manhattan. Within moments, ICE agents moved in to arrest some of the bystanders as well, prompting further fury from the gathering crowd.

New Yorkers pulled out their cellphones and began recording the ICE operation. Some onlookers shouted at the agents, calling the arrests “disgusting” and deman

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