harassed

NEW YORK — A day after a mass of federal agents questioned street vendors and sparked protests on Manhattan’s Canal Street, sellers were scarce on the busy strip. Some who did venture out Wednesday, though, were disheartened or riled up by a sweep in which they said people, including U.S. citizens, were pressed to show their papers.

Federal authorities said 14 people, including immigrants and demonstrators, were arrested in Tuesday’s sweep. The Department of Homeland Security said it was a targeted operation focused on the alleged sale of counterfeit goods, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons said it was “definitely intelligence-driven.”

“It’s not random. We’re just not pulling people off the street,” he told Fox News on Wednesday.

But some vendors saw it as an indiscriminate and heavy-handed crackdown by masked agents who queried a wide swath of sellers.

Awa Ngam was selling sweaters Wednesday from a table at a Canal Street intersection where at least one of her fellow vendors was taken away the previous afternoon.

She said she also was asked for ID, showed it, and then for her passport, which she doesn’t carry around. Agents quizzed her about how she had come to the U.S., but they eventually backed off after her husband explained that she’s an American citizen, she said.

“They asked every African that was here for their status,” Ngam said.

She returned to the spot Wednesday unafraid but upset.

“I’m saddened because they should not walk around and ask people for their passport in America,” said Ngam, who said she came to the U.S. from Mauritania in 2009. She added that if not for her legal immigration status, she would be fearful: “What if they took me? What would happen to my kids?”

Some other sellers decried the sweep as harassment. Others were keeping a low profile and shied from speaking with journalists.

Signs freshly posted on streetlights mentioned Tuesday’s sweep and urged people at risk of detention to call an immigration law group’s helpline.

Separately, state Atty. Gen. Letitia James, a Democrat, asked New Yorkers to send in photos or videos of Tuesday’s immigration sweep so that her office could assess whether laws were broken.

Law enforcement raids aimed at combating counterfeiting are relatively frequent on Canal Street, which is known for its stalls and shops where some vendors hawk knockoff designer goods and bootlegged wares. Federal authorities often team up with the New York Police Department and luxury brands on crackdowns aimed at shutting down illicit trade.

But the sight of dozens of masked ICE and other federal agents making arrests drew instant protests.

Bystanders and activists converged at the scene and shouted at the agents, at one point blocking their vehicle. ICE, Border Patrol and other federal agents tried to clear the streets, sometimes shoving protesters to the ground and threatening them with stun guns or pepper spray before detaining them.

Nine people were arrested in the initial immigration sweep, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. Four more people were arrested on charges of assaulting federal law enforcement officers, she said, adding that a fifth was arrested and accused of obstructing law enforcement by blocking a driveway.

McLaughlin said some of the people arrested had previously been accused of crimes, including robbery, domestic violence, assaulting law enforcement, counterfeiting and drug offenses.

The sweep came after at least two conservative influencers shared video on X of men selling bags on Canal Street’s sidewalks.

While clashes between immigration authorities and protesters have played out in Los Angeles and other cities, such scenes have been rarer on New York City streets, which Mayor Eric Adams has attributed in part to his working relationship with President Trump’s administration.

Adams, a Democrat, said city police had no involvement in Tuesday’s immigration sweep.

“Our administration has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue their American dreams should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals,” he said.

Peltz and Offenhartz write for the Associated Press.

Penny Uro, who has travelled to the North African country several times before, came away from her latest holiday to Egypt feeling as if she’d been hassled and scammed

A Brit holidaymaker who claims Egypt is getting worse as a holiday destination with every visit said she “couldn’t wait to leave” the country.

Penny Uro, who has travelled to the North African country several times before, says she found the “hassling for money and scamming culture so exhausting.” She claims she was bothered by Uber drivers, tour guides, street vendors, and airport staff—despite being in the company of four men and a child.

The 41-year-old shared a video on Instagram for her 22,000 followers titled “Reasons why I couldn’t wait to leave Egypt.”

Solicitor and travel influencer Penny said she felt that “nothing was done as part of general good service,” and instead every seemingly kind act was “just a way to extract extra cash.”

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For example, arriving at the airport at 11pm with a child and suitcases, she was eager to get a taxi, but says she had issues with drivers pretending to be with Uber, and then demanding she pay them in cash.

She added that one driver allegedly “stopped just before the exit of the airport, threw my suitcases out of the boot, and drove off”.

Penny, from the Midlands, said it only got worse when she arrived at her hotel, where she claims her group was “constantly harassed for tips and constantly catcalled”.

The travel enthusiast said: “It was shocking. We were constantly harassed for tips and constantly catcalled. One of the men who cleaned the toilets actually followed me into the ladies and stood outside my cubicle.

“When I came out, he kept telling me I was beautiful and then asked for tips. Waiters would stand by the coffee machines in the morning, pressing the coffee button and asking for tips. They would also follow me around, asking if I had a husband.

Penny said she was also harassed on the street and when visiting famous landmarks. She said: “Even though I was travelling with four men, it seems that didn’t put the locals off. We arranged a private tour guide, but every time we stepped out of the van, locals would descend on us with various tidbits to sell.

“When we said no, they would start grabbing our arms or bags and then say things aggressively. We went to the Valley of the Kings, and around each tomb are various men who either take your photo or let you into the tomb, and every one asked for a tip.

“Our tour guide took us to three shops despite telling him that we had no interest in buying anything. When we tried to leave, someone would hold the door closed and another member of staff would try to take you to a different section of the shop.

“Rinse and repeat until we had to tip the doorman to let us out. The guide always waited outside, presumably because he knew what was happening.”

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Penny also encountered problems at the airport when travelling home. She said: “Airport staff searched my handbag after it went through the security belt. When it came to retrieving it, the staff member refused to hand it over unless I paid him a fee.

“I told him repeatedly I had no more cash left and he said that I had to write down all my personal details and he would ‘find me.’ These details included address, passport number, age, email, phone number, etc. So I made up those details, grabbed my bag, and left.

“Going to the bathroom at the airport was a painful experience, with locals standing inside and withholding toilet paper and access to the sinks and hand dryers unless we tipped them. I’m an Amex credit card holder and have priority passes for airport lounges.

“We checked over seven times that lounge access was not subject to a fee, and a representative repeatedly confirmed that it would be free for passholders. When we got to the desk at the lounge, which was a considerable distance from where we were in the airport, they wanted to charge us $175 for access.”

Tensions boiled over this past Friday as throngs of mostly peaceful protesters, brandishing placards with messages like “Gringo: Stop stealing our home” and demanding immediate housing regulation, took to tourist hotspots throughout the city

A fierce backlash against gentrification and a surge in mass tourism has unfolded on the streets of Mexico City.

Tensions boiled over this past Friday as throngs of mostly peaceful protesters, brandishing placards with messages like “Gringo: Stop stealing our home” and demanding immediate housing regulation, took to tourist hotspots throughout the city.

The protest took a darker turn as the day went on, with a handful violently lashing out, shattering shop windows and plundering several establishments. At one point, one person was seen aggressively jabbing a butter knife at a restaurant window where punters were sheltering, while another emblazoned “kill a gringo” on a wall in the vicinity.

Years of mass tourism and skyrocketing rent prices have left residents of a bustling city frustrated. The tide of foreigners began to swell in 2020, as Americans sought refuge in Mexico City to work remotely, escape coronavirus restrictions, and enjoy lower living costs.

Have you been impacted by overtourism? Email [email protected]

READ MORE: Brit warns others as he’s slapped with £150 fine after returning from holiday

Desirable areas like Roma and Condesa, known for their lush central locales brimming with cafes and markets, have seen an uptick in foreign tourists and ‘digital nomads’ since then. The number of Airbnbs in the city has rocketed.

Residents are feeling the squeeze, claiming they’ve been ousted from their own communities. This sentiment is partly attributed to a controversial call made by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum back in 2022 when she signed a deal with Airbnb and UNESCO to promote tourism and court remote workers, fully aware of the potential repercussions on local housing.

“The xenophobic displays seen at that protest have to be condemned. No one should be able to say ‘any nationality get out of our country’ even over a legitimate problem like gentrification,” the President said following the protests.

The influx of holidaymakers has driven up rents and living costs, making English an increasingly heard language on the streets of these neighbourhoods. Some critics have labelled this trend as a form of “neo-colonialism.”

The Mexico City Anti-Gentrification Front, one of the groups organising protests, has said it is “completely against” any acts of physical violence and refuted claims that their protests are xenophobic. Instead, they argue that the demonstrations stem from the local government’s longstanding failure to tackle the underlying issues.

“Gentrification isn’t just foreigners’ fault, it’s the fault of the government and these companies that prioritize the money foreigners bring,” the group declared. They highlighted the struggle of “young people and the working class can’t afford to live here.”

The organisation has issued a list of demands, calling for increased rent controls, insisting that locals should have a say in larger development projects in their area, stricter laws making it more difficult for landlords to evict tenants and prioritising Mexican renters over foreigners.

Mexico’s protest follows a series of similar demonstrations across Europe against mass tourism.

At the moment over 26,000 properties in Mexico City are listed on Airbnb, as reported by Inside Airbnb, an advocacy group monitoring the company’s impact on residential communities through data. This compares to 36,000 properties in New York City and 19,000 in Barcelona, where protests have also erupted.

Airbnb claimed to have contributed over a billion dollars to Mexico City’s “economic impact” last year, supporting 46,000 jobs in the city. “What’s needed is regulation based not on prohibitions, but on respect for rights and transparency of obligations,” the company said in a statement.

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