- Dozens arrested in Tribeca hotel ICE protest.
- The protest followed similar actions in other cities, including Minneapolis.
- New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised protesters for exercising their rights.
DOZENS OF PROTESTORS were arrested Tuesday evening after occupying the lobby of a Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood to protest federal immigration enforcement. The protest followed similar demonstrations in other cities, including Minneapolis.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised the protesters for exercising their rights and said he was satisfied with the police response, according to The New York Times. His spokesman, Sam Raskin, said Mamdani believes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “is a rogue agency that has repeatedly carried out cruel, inhumane and lawless raids and arrests of American citizens.”
The protest began around 6 p.m. when more than 100 demonstrators entered the hotel on Sixth Avenue near Canal Street, chanting anti-ICE slogans and wearing T-shirts reading “Hilton houses ICE,” The Associated Press reported. Protesters said they believed ICE agents were staying at the hotel; however, it was not clear if that was the case.
A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, declined to say, citing nondisclosure. Hilton did not respond to requests for comment and a hotel employee declined to comment.
Police reportedly entered the lobby and ordered protesters to leave, warning that those who remained would be arrested.
“They want you guys out of the hotel,” one officer told the crowd, according to the Times.
Many left, but about 50 stayed on the lobby floor. Among them was the Rev. Micah Bucey of Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village.
“I know that my God is telling me that I have to be here,” Bucey said, according to the Times. “I am in solidarity with all of the people in Minneapolis. All of the people in Chicago, all of the people across the country, especially with my immigrant neighbors.”
Around 7:30 p.m., officers with the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group began making arrests. Protesters were lifted from the floor, their hands bound with zip ties and escorted through a rear exit to buses. Police also ordered reporters to leave as the lobby was cleared, the Times reported.
The NYPD said 66 people were taken into custody, according to NBC 4 New York. Around 64 received summonses for trespassing and disorderly conduct and two received desk appearance tickets for obstructing governmental administration.
Outside the hotel, additional demonstrators gathered, including people who walked from an anti-ICE rally near Foley Square. Some continued chanting “Stop helping ICE” before dispersing or heading toward Washington Square Park. By 8 p.m., the hotel lobby was cleared and remaining protesters dispersed, the Times reported.
The Manhattan protest followed similar demonstrations in other cities, including Sunday outside a Home2Suites by Hilton hotel in Minneapolis. That protest escalated after some demonstrators vandalized the building and federal agents used tear gas, according to news reports. Minneapolis demonstrations were driven by anger over immigration enforcement operations that protesters say caused the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti this month, according to The Guardian.
Hilton removed the reportedly Indian-owned Hampton Inn in Lakeville, Minnesota, from its system after the hotel denied rooms to Department of Homeland Security staff.
