The federal takeover of New York is no longer theoretical. Even as we begin a new chapter under Zohran Mamdani — elected on a promise to defend immigrant New Yorkers — federal agents recently descended on Canal St., detaining street vendors in Chinatown while terrified residents looked on. This is the street-level enforcement that many thought our city would be spared.
And yesterday, White House board czar Tom Homan said, “We’re increasing enforcement presence in New York City again because they’re a sanctuary city.”
Our city is not alone. Federal agents have deployed to Portland, despite courts’ attempt to block them. Upstate, ICE raided a plant in Cato, detaining 68 workers, leaving children to return to empty homes. In Saratoga County, more than 100 ICE arrests took place through July.
In New York City, walk into 26 Federal Plaza and you’ll see what an occupation looks like. Masked agents lurk in hallways, waiting to grab people leaving immigration court. In September, these agents shoved journalists to the floor, sending one to the hospital. Days earlier, an agent grabbed a mother by her hair and threw her to the ground in front of her children.
As we await the swearing in of a mayor committed to protecting immigrant New Yorkers, federal enforcement agencies continue to act with impunity — undermining local efforts to build trust and safety.
The Trump administration’s strategy in New York City has been slightly more surgical than elsewhere. Rather than raiding workplaces to generate headlines, ICE has arrested people inside federal courthouses after immigration hearings, where people are legally pursuing immigration status. The tactic is insidious, and the impact predictable. Immigrants have stopped showing up to court, terrified of being disappeared. The courthouse strategy has undermined the entire immigration court system, turning a legal process into a trap.
But the shift from courthouse arrests to street raids could happen at any moment. Trump threatened to withhold federal funding and deploy troops to New York City if voters elect a mayor he disapproves of, which they did. His administration froze $18 billion in infrastructure funding and slashed our homeland security funding before flip-flopping and restoring it. There should be little doubt that Trump will escalate these tactics to antagonize Mamdani.
The legal barriers that have temporarily restrained the administration elsewhere are thin. A federal judge in Illinois blocked National Guard deployment to Chicago, but an appeals court quickly modified the order. When Oregon tried to stop federal forces, troops traveled there anyway. Courts can slow this administration. They cannot stop it.
Federal agents have the personnel and the political backing to expand operations in New York whenever they choose. Even with a mayor who stands firmly on the side of immigrant rights, New York cannot rely on goodwill alone — it will take coordinated policy and community defense to hold the line. The Trump administration has shown no hesitation in deploying overwhelming force against cities run by his political enemies. The escalation will come. The only question is when.
In Chicago, residents are showing what resistance looks like. Neighbors organize rapid response teams to document ICE activity and alert communities through text networks. Parents walk children to school in groups. Volunteers deliver groceries to families too afraid to leave their homes. Local businesses post signs declaring their properties off-limits to federal immigration enforcement.
These are not radical actions. They are mutual aid and community self-defense within the bounds of the law. New Yorkers can do the same.
Make sure you and your neighbors know your rights, including remaining silent, not opening the door without a signed judicial warrant being presented.
Encourage anyone who might be at risk of immigration enforcement to make a family preparedness plan. Organize rapid response networks in your building or block (for example, Chicago’s People’s Patrol includes 180 volunteers who monitor for enforcement activity, and residents are using whistles to alert each other to ICE’s presence). And make sure you document everything. If you witness ICE activity, record it safely. Use the SALUTE criteria when you do. Community documentation is crucial for legal challenges and public accountability.
Finally, demand that our elected officials act. Mamdani and the City Council will have an opportunity — and an obligation — to use every legal tool available to protect New Yorkers from federal overreach. At the state level, we must pass the New York for All Act and codify immigration protections into local law.
The federal assault on our city has already started. New Yorkers must be ready to stand up for our collective futures.
Awawdeh is president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition.
