NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday launched a portal to “collect photos and videos of ICE activity in New York” after an immigration raid in Chinatown made national news.
In a press release, James said the portal was in response to the raid on Canal Street vendors, an enforcement action carried out by ICE and other federal agencies Tuesday evening.
“Every New Yorker has the right to live without fear or intimidation,” James said in a statement. “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. No one should be subject to unlawful questioning, detention, or intimidation.”
The creation of the portal comes as James, a longtime Democratic foe of President Donald Trump, has vowed to fight back against the Republican administration.
Earlier this month, James was indicted by a federal grand jury on mortgage fraud charges—charges she called “baseless” and politically motivated by Trump, who she successfully brought a civil case against.
“You come for me, you’ve got to come for all of us, all of us, every single one of us,” she said at a rally for mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
Earlier this month, Apple, Google and Meta took steps to block apps and pages that flag ICE sightings at the request of federal authorities.
Officials said Wednesday that the raid on Canal Street vendors led to 14 arrests, including several demonstrators who descended on the scene as news of the raid got around. Nine of the arrests were related to the initial immigration sweep.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, called the sweep “a targeted, intelligence-driven” operation “focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods." She said some of the people arrested by authorities had previously been accused of crimes, including “robbery, burglary, domestic violence, assaulting law enforcement, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, drug possession, and forgery.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.