October 22, 2025 Foley Square "ICE out of New York. Abolish ICE! Full rights for immigrants! End the detentions and deportations! End the militarization!"
Hundreds gathered to protest ICE 's raid of street vendors in Chinatown the night before as part of the Trump administration's racist attacks and militarization of U.S. cities.
FLICKR slide show
ICE has no place in our city. Let’s build the movement to stop them.
🚨 EMERGENCY ACTION! ICE OUT OF NY! 🚨
We will NOT tolerate ICE’s terror against street vendors and immigrant communities.....demand freedom for those detained and an end to ICE raids.
🚫 NO to the criminalization of our communities.
https://x.com/i/status/1980746869836816743
ICE agents raided Chinatown’s Canal Street on Tuesday afternoon, detaining several street vendors in an operation that drew immediate and fierce backlash from bystanders and immigrant advocates. https://amny.com/news/ice-agent
CANAL STREET UPDATE: The 9 “street vendors” arrested yesterday were illegals who had a criminal history of: (https://x.com/i/status/1981029302708645978) Savanah Hernandez
Counterfeit - Drug trafficking - Forgery - Possession of drugs - Robbery - Assault (per acting ICE Director Todd Lyons)
++
NEXT DAY:
NYC Canal St is CLEAR. There are no counterfeit scammers or drug dealers on the streets today They have been ICED!!
"We Will Not Be Banned: The broken promise of equal justice" Hosted by CAIR-New York
"CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding."
Speakers and partners included NY Day of Remembrance Committee, Jewish social justice contingent (Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Jews Say No!, Jewish Voice for Peace) NY Civil Liberties Union, LatinoJustice, and T’ruah.
On July 4th, 2017 (Noon) CAIR-NY sponsored a presser; a Muslim-led teach-in and rally in the Fifth Floor Atrium- a public space - in what they described as the "hideous" Trump Tower. (though later they chanted "Whose tower, OUR Tower")
They claim, the purpose of the presser was to highlight how the United States has repeatedly broken her founding promises and (they claim) targeted groups on the basis of race, religion, or ideology.
The speakers insisted their communities have historically been targeted - from the U.S.’s internment of Americans of Japanese descent, to U.S.’s treatment of Puerto Rico, to President Trump’s Muslim Ban. So, CAIR-NY and their (social justice) partners used this day to reaffirm their commitment to that most "basic American tenet, "ALL are created equal".
America's 241st Independence Day, was marred by these protestors who claimed that President Trump stands in a long line of American leaders who sought political power by marginalizing and demonizing minority groups.
AS NOON approached, I arrived - looking for protestors.
11:55 I see barricades but no protestors; just empty pens. Odd. Then I saw ONE - no two - women in front of the doors to the tower.
That, too, was odd; verboten, actually, since a previous Trump Tower protest (on Aug 31, 2016) that BLOCKED entry to the Tower created more crowd control at the entrance.
Guess things have relaxed with time. And THEN I remembered, there is a Fifth Floor Public Space in the Tower.
" ... part of an agreement Trump made in the 1970s [...] an agreement in whicha developer receives special permissions from the city in exchange for the inclusion ... of spaces open to the general public."
The Lefties have protested there previously, testing the "public space right-to-assemble." SO, once I actually READ the sign the women were holding, DIRECTIONS to the Fifth Floor Presser, I headed inside.
Went through security, bags, camera screened. Rode the elevator to the Fifth Floor with the Fox5 cameraman AND the very friendly, Albert Fox Cahn, CAIR–NY's Legal Director! Then, VOILA - the atrium ...
The protestors have gathered here for CAIR's Independence Day Presser.
Familiar faces, too, like Donna Nevel (Jewish Voice For Peace).
Labor Union Rabbi Michael Feinberg (Interfaith Worker Justice)
.
Soon, Nevel and Feinberg put out warnings on ME to CAIR's Mr. Albert Cahn, who seemed to regret his cheery greeting in the elevator. NERVOUS I guess, cause I - the ENEMY- was in his - CAIR's - very sacred - PUBLIC - space.
Now, he asked me who was I with. What media. And another person wanted to know if I was a volunteer. Really? Come on, guys, first thing I signed-in as media. ALL are WELCOME here, right?
All proceeded normally, so it seemed, with cameras in place; waiting for the speakers. (2 pictures David Moriya )
Video: Then the MC made his welcoming speech. All was calm.
However, as soon as the first refugee speaker (Poor William) began (all would be refugee/emigres sharing their stories) the JDL counter-protest began, too.
Turning ALL of their Alinsky-tactics back at them, the JDL caused palpitations amongst the Lefties who "discreetly" scrambled with their signs and banners to cover up the very mobile JDL flag and a Blue Line Flag.
The first actual speaker was "Poor William from Iran". He spoke calmly and succinctly about why he fled Iran (he's Jewish) and his uncertain status in the U.S. While in the back ground, the JDL flag was very busy.
VIDEO - William from Iran
The Blue Line Flag stayed put in one corner, not easy to see, but that did not deter the Lefties. They seemed MORE upset by this flag. (So much for grateful patriotism.) Of of course - President TRUMP.
I stayed. Covered all the speakers. And SO DID THE JDL. They stayed,too. Heard later that the CAIR hosts asked the police to remove the "INTERLOPERS". But, this was met with a firm, NO. Public Space. (Right Back atcha, CAIR!) Which then accounts for the nice little speech the MC made mid-presser.
"Let's keep our eyes up here- at the podium. Ignore the protestors. They have a right to be here. This is America. but, let's focus on why we are here."
Almontaser - of the infamous Khalil Gibran Public School Madrassa and Intifada NYC T-shirt, that I personally exposed in 2007, makes me a bit unpopular with Ms. Almontasser (Picture/link 2007)
Currently, Dr. Almontaser sits on Public Advocate Tish James’ Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh Task Force to Combat Hate. Almontaser’s first step when leading a session she creates a community agreement about how to interact during the session. For example:
Approach others with respect Withhold judgment Don’t make identity-based assumptions “Listen to learn”; use “generous listening” Accept differences Be aware of privilege and intersectionality Assume good intentions Don’t take it personally if someone says you’ve said something offensive
Debbie (Almontaser) was having fun sharing some very animated selfies.
The Green Hat fake legal team - standing at the door - looking lost next to real police
And Patriots who had been on the side and in the back were now at the exit, continuing to speak their minds in SUPPORT of Pres. Trump.
As the CAIR Lefties tried to leave - smug with success - they had to walk through the WE WON, YOU LOST Patriots! Again (fun.)
These malcontents who masquerade as patriots, these traitors, who have snookered people like Poor William from Iran, conning them into working with organizations like CAIR - organizations that are committed to deconstructing our government, America - They do not intend to fade away.
WE have met their challenge.
We will not be Silent. We TOO have NOT forgotten. WE WON. YOU LOST.
As I walked to the subway, about two dozen protesters marched passed me to to Tower's entrance on Fifth Avenue, yelling anti-fascist chants.
Perhaps now, THIS was :
.... til NEXT TIME....
[Where indicated, Pictures and Videos Property of Pamela Hall]
FYI- New York University (NYU)is
a private nonprofit research university based in New York City; a
world-class university, operating NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai and 11
global academic centers in Accra, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence,
London, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Sydney, Tel Aviv, and Washington, D.C.Alumni
include heads of state, royalty, eminent mathematicians, inventors,
media figures, Olympic medalists, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and
astronauts. NYU alumni are among the wealthiest in the world. According
to The Princeton Review, NYU is consistently considered by students and
parents as a "Top Dream College."
video crowd - chants - indoctrination 101
The
average NYU student seems to come from the faux 1 %. The privileged,
pampered generation, taught by their Marxist professors to hate
themselves. Therefore, they must apologize 24/7.
"
President Hamilton still refuses to declare NYU a Sanctuary campus.
For a so- called progressive university this seems totally out of
character. Some would say NYU is not progressive at all. We expect them
to protect us. We have to make them. "Whose campus OUR campus!"
Intro for faculty member who began speaking (off-camera) "... next speaker is an NYU Professor" (CHEERS/applause)
"Dear Allies, Please join us at ourrally
in Kimmel from 3-4pm on Wednesday, March 1, to call on NYU to declare
sanctuary campus and demonstrate its commitment to members of the NYU
community made more vulnerable by the Trump administration. We want to emphasize that the event is for faculty, staff, and students!"
"Thank you all for being here. Do I really need this megaphone? You can't hear me without this? ... Well, first of all, I want to say how exciting the energy is in this room and (cheers) to
underscore how important it is for our President to declare NYU a
sanctuary campus. It's so important symbolically but it's actually
incumbent upon us as students faculty and staff at this university to
MAKE this campus a sanctuary campus without (my video begins) waiting for permission. (cheers)"
Video of faculty speech: Of course, they BELIEVE these ALTERNATIVE facts (they have no choice)
Transcription of her speech:
"Right
now there are 500,000 unauthorized workers in New York City. 99.9% of
those do not have criminal records, other than committing the crime of
having to cross the border without documentation. These unauthorized
workers as you've heard, time and again, if you bought yesterday at
whole foods, if you bought, you know, a garment of some local designer
in So Ho or Brooklyn, these are the people who are sewing your garments
and picking your fruit. It's the reason why you have ENTIRE indigenous
communities on Long Island from (? Chapa and Xauacca and D?... ?)
picking our vegetables and our fruits. And it's why we get those
vegetables and fruits so cheaply because, indeed, they ARE paid less
than you would have to pay a person with documents.
This
doesn't mean that WE can't, just because Hamilton hasn't declared this a
sanctuary campus, it doesn't mean that WE CAN'T. I mean, imagine what
it would be like if every dorm room, every office, every library, every
classroom were OPEN to undocumented workers who are being PERSECUTED by
ICE. If we really turned this into a sanctuary, just like Judson Church
next door, can you imagine the optics of ICE agents trying to come and
remove a mother or a father who's taking refuge in our university? Can
you imagine the optics of ICE having to storm a university campus to
remove these people?
We
have a very powerful role we can play, especially in New York City,
where so many, so many of our unauthorized immigrants work
and..uh play, too.
The
other thing that's very, very important to remember, especially, I love
the chant, uh, you know, "Education and jobs rather than mass
deportation". But, let's not kid ourselves. One of the reasons why Trump
wants to expand ICE and deportation (and ...) that's his job program. Hiring 10, 00 or 15,000 more ICE workers, that's the extent of his jobs program. (light laughter) And so we have to, we have to, you know, increasing the military [a ?... after his jobs program]
So we need to make this evident. It's incumbent upon us, like I said,
to be the voice, to be a sanctuary movement beyond whatever happens to
may or may not declare.
One
of the...we have to remember that sanctuary came into this country as
part of the abolition movement. And so sanctuary never saw its role as
limited to protecting, you know, the slaves that ran away. They saw
their role as (??) the voices of those who have been enslaved. Just as we have to understand our role as very privileged faculty and students and staff (??) the voices of unauthorized workers in our community.
Beyond
the DACA students that we have here, who we of course have to protect,
let's not forget that DACA students do still have some authorization.
But what about their friends? What about their families? We have to figure out ways of (??) as a united community in the face of this blatant racist law that Donald Trump is trying to enforce.
The
other thing that's very important is, I'm going to get a little nerdy
on you all, is when Trump talks about all the jobs that NAFTA destroyed
in the United States. What he doesn't tell you is all the jobs that
NAFTA destroyed in Mexico. (applause/cheers) 4 million farms in Mexico were put out of work and
when you put a Mexican farm out of work you put generations of workers
out of work. Its not just the one farm owner. No. You're actually
setting into motion hundreds of people per farm looking for labor.
And
that's why they're here, doing that agricultural work; those
agricultural jobs. It's not a coincidence that 11 million Mexican
unauthorized workers who are here, came after the passage of NAFTA.
Because NAFTA destroyed jobs in that economy, just as it destroyed here.
'Cause the sole purpose of NAFTA was to lower the cost of labor across
the Americas. It did so very successfully. And one of the consequences
that we have now had to bring in to our community, people who are
willing to do work, jobs that... whose payment has been pushed down.
So,
we have to remember that, when NAFTA was negotiated, it negotiated for
the free passage of goods. It negotiated the free passage of capital,
but what was left out of that dream (??) labor. So
that's what unauthorized workers are doing here, they're working.
Because they can't find jobs in their country and because the price of
labor has been pushed so far down that U.S. citizens can't afford to
reproduce themselves, doing the jobs at that hourly wage.
So, uh, anyway (?) (cheers/applause)
We don't have to communicate. We don't have to wait for Hamilton to
declare this a sanctuary campus and to make it a sanctuary campus. Let's
figure out ways of inviting those unauthorized workers into our class
rooms, into our dorms, into our residential campuses, into our offices
to share their stories and to, also, find refuge. Thank you."
I leave you with a few links that convey the warped perspective of the NYU students: "Whose campus, OUR campus."
"Hi
All, Below are two links to some of the correspondence NYU Sanctuary
has had with President Hamilton. Hope they help contextualize the the
rally tomorrow!"
The Sanctuary Campus rally is in "support of the most vulnerable community members" ; to spread awareness about President Hamilton’s deliberate choice to not declare NYU as a Sanctuary
"President
Hamilton, as you said that you are interested in substantive language
and substantive actions. So why does NYU publicly celebrate the language
of diversity and inclusion, and yet refuses to stand in solidarity with
students who are at risk and people who are at risk, and stand up to
this federal regime of White nationalism? In your refusal to declare
Sanctuary, whose interests are you protecting?" #TeaWithAndy#NYUSanctuary
"You
said you said you are taking all measures to protect undocumented
students. I would like to know why in the month of February, did the Law
school invite ICE recruiters onto campus?"#TeaWithAndy#NYUSanctuary
AND
THAT MY FRIENDS, is what these very privileged students are bombarded
with "day in and day out", compliments of the Marxist influence that
runs deeply through faculty and staff at NYU. Progressives.
Indoctrination 101. What a waste.
"My parents grew up in New York City, both from Puerto Rican immigrant families. Because we are Puerto Rican my family never had to live with the fear and uncertainty of not having papers but they did have to learn to adjust to life in a different language, culture and country. Growing up in Western, MA I saw the disrespect my mom faced at her job in a doctor’s office. Everyday when she came home from work I saw the powerlessness she felt in the face of mistreatment and her inability to leave her job for fear of not getting another. This daily dehumanization wore our family down. I know this is just a tiny sliver of the injustice, disrespect and mistreatment that immigrant families face in this country every day. I’m getting arrested with Cosecha today because I want all immigrants, children of immigrants and grandchildren of immigrants to know that we don’t have stay silent and watch our families and our communities face mistreatment. We are here to demand dignity for our entire community from my mom, to the undocumented workers who build Trump Tower, to the farm workers who picked the apple I ate for breakfast this morning."
"When I saw the headlines that Trump started his campaign by saying “When Mexico sends its people, they are not sending their best” I became upset not by Trump, but by all his supporters that came out and agreed with him. It reminded me of the story of this country. Countless times I have seen racist and xenophobic people treat my family and people like us like we are less deserving because we are immigrants and undocumented. I am getting arrested today because I want to make a statement that you cannot talk down on immigrants while benefiting from our labor. I am getting arrested so that more immigrants join Cosecha and fight against this hateful narrative and to win permanent protection, dignity and respect for immigrants in this country. I want more people to join harvest and fight with us against the anti-immigrant sentiment, so that we can get permanent protection, dignity and respect for our undocumented community."
"Five years ago, I made a promise to myself and the immigrant community that I was going to fight for us the way they fought for me. That was the same day that the DREAM Act failed on the Senate floor. I had driven all the way down from New Jersey the night before, only to watch the votes come in against me, my community, our future. I saw everyone. The disappointment. The pain. I promised to never allow this pain to come to my community ever again. For five years, I failed to complete my promise and it has eaten at me and bothered me. Especially now. Now, we have the opportunity to start things up again, to take a step towards completing my promise. I’ve realized I’ve been trying to keep this promise by myself so I have to do something that reactivates my community so we can fight together, just like we did in 2010. So I want to tell our community: I need your help. I can’t do this alone anymore."
Cata Santiago Lives in Florida City, Florida From Coatecas Altas, Mexico
"My name is Cata Santiago and I am engaging in this civil disobedience to honor my parents’ labor. My parents are one of the most vulnerable workers in this country-- they’re farm workers. We migrated from Oaxaca, Mexico to Homestead, Florida in 2005. The experience of the undocumented workers that worked on Trump Tower is parallel to the experience of my parents who work hard under the sun for a mediocre salary. Donald Trump and his supporters don’t recognize the dependency this economy has on hands of working immigrants. I am getting arrested because I know that my parents aren’t the only ones who struggle because they don’t have permanent protection, dignity, and respect. I want to send a message to our community: we will not stand with Trump’s rhetoric of hatred and racism. His ideology is a threat to my family, to me, to 11 million people. The time is now to stand against hate and racism."
"It deeply bothers me to live in a country that does not remember its own history. My family came here as Jewish Immigrants from Eastern Europe almost 100 years ago. We came looking for a better life and fleeing persecution just like the 200 undocumented Polish workers that built Trump Tower. I stand with immigrants now because it does not serve this country to have a class of exploited workers who live in perpetual insecurity. I stand with immigrants now, in this civil disobedience, because the people close to my heart can’t get arrested. During this action, I will be thinking of Sonia, an undocumented woman from Peru, who has not seen her children in 12 years. She sees me as one of her children, but it pains me to know that she can’t give her own kids a hug. On her 12th year anniversary of her leaving her country, I called her and we cried on the phone together. We cried because of how deeply we value our relationship, and I cried because I didn’t want to be her substitute child-- I want her to see her own children. I want to tell the immigrant community that there’s hope, you have power, and you have allies. This country needs this movement."
"I have been organizing immigrant workers for 5 years and I have seen the pain of not being valued because of your status. I’ve seen the pain of working so hard, but not getting paid. The pain of not being treated as a full person. I am engaging in this nonviolent civil disobedience to say that we will not longer accept the pain anymore. I want to show my support and love for the undocumented workers across the country. I am also doing this because of the undocumented people who are making a sacrifice by my side during this action. I want to tell the immigrant community that I will be here until the strike-- we are not going anywhere. I see you-- I see the sacrifices that you make, the work you do, and I want to honor you. It’s time to do something bigger than we’ve ever done before to make this country recognize that this country relies on you."
"My parents are legal permanent residents, my brother is a citizen and I’m undocumented. I recently had my application for a green card rejected. I sent in the application a week before my 21st birthday, but United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) has the right to be discretionary about their decided that because I applied so close to my birthday I no longer qualified as a minor. Living in a country where decisions about my future are all discretionary, is suffocating. Living here without any rights is suffocating. I’m tired of feeling like I don’t have any control over my future."
++ ++ ++
There you have it. Eight very entitled ILLEGAL migrants (and friends) .
Chained. Chanting their Lies. Claiming ILLEGALS BUILT Trump Tower!
"Trump Tower was built by 200 low wage, undocumented immigrant workers.
35 years later, our people continue to work in fields, construction sites, restaurants, and other industries for less than minimum wage without any dignity or respect. Join us as we honor the undocumented workers who built this tower, but also the workers who continue to build this country."
In fact, a union lawsuit against the contractor was for pension and welfare benefits for 200 POLISH illegals who were hired to TEAR DOWN the Bonwit Teller Department store, not the CONSTRUCTION of the Tower.
Critical COMMENT made on-line to rebut the Cosecheros :
"Built by us? Unless you helped build it with your own hands you have no right saying that. You have no right taking credit for the hard work of Americans and immigrants. Immigrants are and always have been welcome here.Shame on you for trying to equate immigrants with illegal aliens."
++ In these two short video clips, the illegals proudly twist the narrative. VIDEO #1- I caught snippets of two press interviews.
Carlos Saavedra Diaz - speaking to NBC: "Once again, the hypocrisy of the message of anti-immigrant racism that Donald Trump has supported, while this building was itself and his hotel in D.C. has been built on the hands and the work of undocumented (aka ILLEGAL) immigrants (MIGRANTS)"
Q- What's going on in front of the door?
" In front of the door we have people that are willing to get arrested, they're here and in solidarity with this movement- and they're trying to show that this (?) messaging, this (?) racist,hateful messaging you can't send" (HUH?)
Q: What do you hope to accomplish then.
"We're hoping to accomplish, to recognize the labor of "undocumented immigrants" that it took to build this country. Took to build Trump's Tower which is called the most important project in the world and what it took to build his hotel in D.C."
Q: (chanting begins again)
"Undocumented workers" have always been misrepresented. We don't have enough voices (very loudchanting)
Young female (unidentified) gave some of the correct historical background re the demolition of Bonwit Teller (before construction)
"Donald Trump is a hypocrite because he (has used) hate rhetoric against immigrants while (pointing skyward) this tower, before it was built, was demolished by over 200 "undocumented" Polish workers 35 years ago..."
In VIDEO #2, illegal protestor, ThaÃs Marques, spoke while chained at the Tower Doors.
The police action was calm. Purposeful. Meticulous. Overly careful, perhaps, while CUTTING those blasted chains and locks. And there were LOTS of police.
Quite a few of the white-shirted officers, a few of the business-suit cops and lots of the average patrol cops....
Were joined by the strategic task force/terrorism cops, who came to CUT THE SAWS. (Maybe 40 or so once they'd all arrived)XX
The police, by encircling and blocking the SAWS, controlled the over-acting these protestors love, playing to the cameras, screaming as though they are being hurt. (NOT) But, all ‘good’ things must come to an end.
1 pm arrived. After an hour of planning and sawing, finally the chains and padlocks of the “Cosecha Eight” were sawed through and the Tower Doors were reopened.
Chains cut and bagged and the “Cosecha Eight” cuffed and locked in the police van. Over and Out.
That’s the story of ANOTHER protest supporting Illegal Migration, with some final thoughts from the Cosechas regarding their Declaration of “Dignity”. “We have to confront hate and racism head on.”
“This summer, we celebrated the 10th year anniversary of the mega marches, which were the largest demonstrations in the history of the United States, but the out pour of support for the “immigrant” community hasn’t crystallized into something tangible.
Every four years, immigration (ILLEGAL MIGRATION) comes up as part of an election platform to win Latino votes but time and time again DC fails to turn promises into reality. It’s time for a nonviolent "immigrant" (AKA ILLEGALS) uprising in this country to make the country feel its dependency on low wage workers, "immigrants", and people of color."Carlos E. Rojas Rodriguez
++ Meanwhile, "Never Forget" the intentions of the Cosecha movement: An "Open Door-No Boundaries America". We MUST Stop this Madness.
Make America GREAT Again!
"
