Social media posts ignited a rapid backlash Saturday after reports that federal immigration agents in New York were being physically blocked from leaving their facility.
According to individuals at the scene, the confrontation unfolded near an ICE garage entrance where protesters reportedly dragged objects into the roadway and used private property as improvised obstacles. The blockages slowed or temporarily trapped federal personnel preparing for routine operations.
Saturday’s incident followed previous clashes in Lower Manhattan, including an earlier confrontation that day in which demonstrators attempted to block ICE vehicles after an enforcement sweep on Canal Street. That earlier standoff involved shouting crowds, vandalized barriers, and attempts to prevent agents from departing the area.
Posts on X alleged that protesters were using others property to create makeshift barricades that blocked ICE vehicles from advancing in New York on Saturday.
One video reposted by reporter Nick Sortor gained significant traction online.
“Anti-ICE rioters in NYC are now DESTROYING property to create barriers blocking ICE from driving through NYC How is this NOT an insurrection? ICE is having to fight to even leave their facility — let alone DEPORT illegals,” Sortor wrote Saturday afternoon, prompting widespread debate over whether local authorities were responding adequately.
Commenters weighed in with heated reactions.
One wrote, “When Mamdani takes over as Mayor, he will order the NYPD police to stand down against the ‘protestors.' They will block ICE without any police pushback. What happens then? Does Trump have to call out an insurrection and send in the National Guard?”
Another X user posted, “I’m at a point that my candidate of choice in 2028 will be the one who says verbatim 'I will continue to deport, revoke greencards, cancel visas and denaturalize all illegally present as well as those legally present whose ideology is inconsistent with the west.”
Officials in New York have not released a formal statement about the latest blockade, and ICE has not confirmed whether the online videos depict the entire sequence of events.
The growing frequency of these confrontations signals increasing tension between federal immigration enforcement and local groups determined to obstruct it.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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