U.S. federal agents conduct a raid on Manhattan's Canal Street. AP Yonhap News. 

On the 21st (local time), federal immigration agents conducted an emergency crackdown in a bustling commercial street in southern Manhattan, New York City, arresting nine undocumented immigrants from Africa, which was met with strong opposition from citizens condemning the operation, the New York Times (NYT) reported on the 22nd.

According to the report, around 3:20 PM the previous day, dozens of federal agents, including those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with their faces covered by masks, carried out a large-scale operation in the Canal Street area near Chinatown in southern Manhattan, New York City.

The Canal Street area is a region where African immigrants are often seen setting up street stalls on sidewalks and selling counterfeit luxury wallets, bags, and watches.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a press release on the 23rd titled "Making New York's Canal Street Safe Again," stating that a targeted operation, based on intelligence, was conducted on Canal Street the previous day.

The DHS stated that the crackdown was related to criminal activities such as the sale of illegal counterfeit goods, and that nine undocumented immigrants were arrested during the operation.

The nine arrested individuals were immigrants from West African countries including Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, and Guinea, and they did not possess legal residency status, the DHS explained.

Furthermore, five of them had prior criminal records for robbery, theft, domestic violence, assault on a police officer, forgery, drug trafficking, and drug possession, the department explained.

Tricia McLellan, the Undersecretary for Homeland Security, said, "The majority of those arrested were released during the Joe Biden administration."

The Canal Street area in Manhattan. New York AFP=Yonhap News. 

The large-scale surprise operation by immigration authorities immediately triggered protest demonstrations.

As news of the crackdown spread on social media, protesters began to gather, and additional federal agents arrived with armored vehicles, leading to a chaotic situation as they confronted the protesters, the NYT reported.

Even after the operation concluded, about 100 citizens gathered near the ICE federal building in southern Manhattan to protest the federal authorities' enforcement activities.

The DHS announced on the same day that five additional arrests were made in connection with the protests.

Civil society groups in the New York area are scheduled to hold another protest against ICE's crackdown near the ICE federal building on the evening of the 22nd.

ICE has confirmed its intention to expand its enforcement activities against undocumented immigrants in the New York City area.

Acting ICE Director Todd Ryan said regarding the previous day's operation in New York City, "This was not a random sweep; we did not just pull people off the street," adding, "We will see an increase in ICE arrests because there are too many undocumented immigrants in New York who have committed crimes and have been released."

Meanwhile, in the days leading up to this surprise operation, pro-Trump influencers reportedly posted videos on social media exposing the illegal street vending activities on Canal Street, which garnered high viewership, the NYT explained.

Yonhap News