Activists and immigrant advocacy organizations called on New Yorkers to continue resisting the enforcement of federal immigration laws, a day after protesters clashed with the New York Police Department as they tried to prevent ICE from conducting operations in Chinatown.

They also pressured NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, to drop the charges against those arrested during the altercations.

This comes after police reported that several people were detained after a group blocked the street and several exits, and threw debris, but they have not provided an account or detailed the specific charges.

City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams advocated for continuing to participate in demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “peacefully” so as not to give agents “an excuse to come in with more force.”

“We will not apologize for intervening and protecting one another (…). We are immensely proud of the New Yorkers who have shown up every time ICE agents have come to try to abuse our neighbors,” Williams said, according to the local news outlet Gothamist.

“Some people were randomly pepper-sprayed, others were violently thrown to the ground. For what? The city of New York has been a sanctuary city for decades,” declared Murad Awawdeh, director of the New York Immigration Coalition, at Sunday's demonstration. Hannah Stauss, a member of the organization Hands Off NYC, also called for resistance against ICE and asserted that, although the agents “are strong men with guns,” they become “much less bold” in these kinds of confrontations, “because there are so many more of us than there are of them.” For her part, New York City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif reminded everyone that New York is a sanctuary city and that local police “should not be collaborating with ICE's harmful tactics.” “Our immigrant communities deserve safety and dignity, not fear,” Hanif stated.

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