ICE arrests illegal immigrant selling counterfeit goods on Canal Street after NYPD released him
ICE agents showed up on Canal Street around noon Saturday and arrested an illegal immigrant, a federal spokesperson said. Gregory P. Mango
An illegal immigrant accused of selling counterfeit goods on Canal Street in Chinatown was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Saturday, with the agency sharply criticizing the NYPD for repeatedly releasing him from custody.
Abdou Tall, a Senegalese national, was taken into custody around noon at Broadway and Canal Street in lower Manhattan during a “targeted operation,” an ICE spokesperson said.
According to ICE, Tall has a history of arrests related to counterfeit merchandise. “Tall fled from law enforcement on foot for several blocks before he tripped and fell and then continued to actively resist arrest,” the spokesperson said. “Our officers followed their training and successfully arrested him.”
Canal Street is widely known as an open market for counterfeit purses and other designer knockoffs.
ICE’s statement came just a day after a White House meeting between Representative Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump, during which the two appeared friendly. The agency criticized the NYPD for not honoring an ICE detainer when Tall was arrested on October 7 for felony trademark counterfeiting.
“Instead of turning him over to ICE custody, they released this criminal illegal alien back into the community, where he allegedly resumed criminal activity, leading to a second NYPD arrest for felony trademark counterfeiting on October 11,” the ICE spokesperson said. “This time he was released by NYPD before ICE could even lodge a detainer.”
ICE also condemned what it called New York’s “liberal criminal justice policies.” “Between sanctuary laws, bail reform, and elected officials’ refusal to work with ICE, New York has become a revolving door for criminal illegal aliens to terrorize neighborhoods,” the spokesperson said.
The NYPD said its officers had conducted routine vendor enforcement at Canal Street and Broadway, confiscating 25 bags of counterfeit items about an hour before ICE’s arrival. About 15 minutes before ICE arrived, police had confiscated a single bag, a spokesperson said.
“The federal agents appeared at the location unrelated to any NYPD activity,” the spokesperson added. “NYPD personnel immediately left the area and did not interact with the federal agents.”
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