Masked federal agents detain man in Upper Manhattan, creating fear in immigrant communities
There are growing concerns in one New York City neighborhood after a man was forcibly taken into custody by federal agents wearing face coverings on Wednesday morning.
The enforcement in Upper Manhattan happened in front of families and small business owners, prompting officials to say there's now a heightened sense of fear in the immigrant community.
Here's what witnesses say happened
The raid took place at the corner of West 157th Street and Broadway -- a busy area in Washington Heights. Screams were heard from the man being detained, followed by people shouting at the federal agents to "Show your faces!"
"There was a group of Homeland Security agents trying to wrench a guy out of a black car," said resident Peter Green, who was walking his family to the train station.
He said the unfolding chaos was a must-film moment.
"It's a traumatic, violent experience to watch. I can only imagine what it was like for the guy being pulled out of his car," Green said.
According to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, the man who was detained is from Guinea, illegally entered the United States in 2021 and was ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2024.
She added, in part, "When our heroic law enforcement officers conduct operations, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement while wearing masks to protect themselves from being targeted by highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists."
Detainment sends "chilling effect to the immigrant community"
The enforcement comes in the wake of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation just last month on Canal Street, where vendors were taken into custody by agents wearing face coverings.
"We have federal law enforcement agents coming and seizing people in the streets in a show of force. [It] is disturbing because to ordinary citizens walking down the street it's not at all clear why there's a necessity for such large amounts of violence," Green said.
City Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who represents residents in Washington Heights, is calling what happened Wednesday a despicable pattern of intimidation by the current federal administration.
"To see an individual to be detained by federal authorities sends a chilling effect to the immigrant community," Abreu said. "Our biggest fear is that this individual is just detained by being perceived as an immigrant."
Abreu said his office is providing know-your-rights sessions and free access to immigration attorneys for anyone in the district who needs it.
"Council Member Shaun Abreu should stop fearmongering and smearing our brave law enforcement who are facing 1000% increase in assaults against them and a nearly 8000% increase in death threats," McLaughlin said in a statement, in part.
