The New York state attorney general, Letitia James, rolled out a “Federal Action Reporting Portal” form urging New York residents to share photos and videos of federal immigration enforcement action across the state, just a day after a high-profile ICE raid rattled Manhattan’s Chinatown and prompted hundreds to come out in protest.
A US congressman revealed in a Wednesday press conference that four US citizens were arrested and held for “nearly 24 hours” after Tuesday’s raid. Protests broke out in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
“Every New Yorker has the right to live without fear or intimidation,” James wrote in a statement announcing the portal.
“If you witnessed and documented ICE activity yesterday, I urge you to share that footage with my office. We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law.”
The form offers spaces to submit images and video footage of the raid, as well as a place to indicate location information. Before submitting, users must check a box that indicates that “the attorney general may use any documents, photographs, or videos I provided in a public document, including in a legal proceeding or public report or statement”.
The Guardian has contacted James’s office for more information.
The Chinatown raid, which onlookers say involved more than 50 federal agents, took place in a well-known area of Manhattan where counterfeit handbags, accessories, jewelry and other goods are sold daily en masse – often to tourists.
Videos of Tuesday’s raid show multiple masked and armed federal agents zip-tying and detaining a man, and shoving away onlookers. Throngs of New Yorkers followed the agents through the streets and down the sidewalks. An armored military vehicle was also seen rolling through the city streets. ICE issued a press release detailing alleged criminal records of some of the immigrants detained.
In a Wednesday press conference held with the New York immigrant rights coalition, congressman Dan Goldman, a Democrat, said four American citizens were detained by ICE for nearly 24 hours and that there were “no circumstances where four American citizens should be arrested for no reason”. He said the citizens were released on Wednesday with no charges filed.
“There’s a clear purpose here. It is not to take criminals off the street and deport them,” Goldman said. “This is a militarized effort to incite tension. It is purely a pretext to incite violence for this administration to bring in the military to stop violence that they have created.”
Outrage over the ICE raid quickly spread – all three mayoral candidates condemned the raid, as did Governor Kathy Hochul.
“Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop,” mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wrote on X.
New York City immigrant rights groups spoke out as well.
“ICE descended on Manhattan’s Chinatown with military-style vehicles, masked agents and riot gear to target street vendors trying to make a living. This operation had nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with terrorizing immigrant families and communities,” said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigrant Coalition.
ICE policy prohibits the detention of US citizens and the agency has said it does not arrest or detain US citizens. However, reporting by ProPublica found that more than 170 US citizens have been held against their will by ICE since the start of the second Trump administration.
ICE raids have been cropping up increasingly in New York and around the country this year.
A 16 October raid in midtown Manhattan was the first known raid on an immigrant shelter of the current Trump administration. Protests against ICE are ubiquitous as are allegations of violence and inhumane treatment.
Most recently, a letter submitted by the ACLU and other civil rights groups alleged medical neglect of pregnant women in ICE facilities.
