Hundreds Protest Outside ICE Headquarters in New York City

Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday evening against President Trump’s escalating immigration crackdown, continuing several days of protests that began more than 2,400 miles away in Los Angeles.

The demonstrators rallied at Foley Square, near a large government building that houses federal immigration offices and the city’s main immigration court, which has become a flashpoint as the Trump administration ramps up the arrests of migrants in courthouses.

Shortly after 6 p.m., hundreds moved into streets that snake through the Lower Manhattan neighborhood that is home to federal buildings, marching about a mile north toward another immigration court on Varick Street. They raised bright yellow signs that said “ICE out of NYC” in Spanish and English.

A separate group stayed behind and spread out around the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office near Foley Square, where a crowd grew increasingly agitated as night fell, leading to dozens of arrests throughout the night.

Tensions first flared as some protesters chanted “Nazi scum” and taunted police officers in riot gear who flanked the protesters in an apparent effort to facilitate the flow of traffic, leading to the first wave of arrests, as people were escorted away with their hands bound in zip ties.

After 10 p.m., a dwindling crowd of about 100 protesters clashed with police officers as the officers sought to keep people on sidewalks near Foley Square, pushing some demonstrators to the ground as they arrested them and using pepper spray during some of the arrests. Some people shouted and shoved the officers as they were led away in handcuffs.

Then, as midnight approached, white vans with flashing lights emerged from near the ICE offices, driving past a street corner where about 50 demonstrators remained. Protesters seemed to rush toward the vans down Broadway, leading to a confusing and volatile clash between law enforcement officers and the demonstrators. It is unclear what caused protesters to rush, but officers arrested a number of people, wrestling them to the ground on a street filled with spilled trash cans.

As Mr. Trump deployed National Guard troops and Marines to California, Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who has largely aligned himself with Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda, said on Tuesday that he did not foresee that Mr. Trump would send the military to New York City.

“If there’s ever a need to go beyond the manpower that we have, there’s other ways you do it before you have to come with the look of a military operation,” Mr. Adams said, citing the size and experience of New York City’s police force.

The rally on Tuesday evening appeared to be larger than the protests in New York during the past few days. Those earlier demonstrations were tense, resulting in arrests and small confrontations with law enforcement personnel, but they did not devolve into the visceral scenes of chaos that appeared episodically in Los Angeles.

While the protests in Los Angeles were largely peaceful, protesters and federal officers have engaged in violent clashes, with officers throwing flash-bang grenades and firing rubber bullets at protesters, who have thrown rocks, glass bottles and fireworks at the officers and have burned vehicles.

In New York, demonstrators coalesced near 26 Federal Plaza, a 41-story federal building just a few blocks from City Hall with one of the city’s three immigration courts. Dozens of migrants showing up for hearings have been detained by federal agents at the courthouse this month, prompting pushback from Democrats and drawing activists to the building. The imposing skyscraper also houses the ICE field office in New York.

On Tuesday, Andrea Montiel, 31, whose parents are Mexican immigrants, said she had showed up at the rally on behalf of family members and friends who she said were too worried about their immigration status to demonstrate publicly.

“I think we’re really here just because we hope we can make a difference and show ICE is not welcome,” she said, adding that New York and Los Angeles were connected by their large Hispanic populations. “We’re one community despite the distance.”

After speeches at the rally, which was organized by a coalition of unions and immigration groups, the crowd grew more disorganized as protesters, many of them masked, broke off to march on city streets, chanting “Abolish ICE” and waving Mexican and Palestinian flags.

Eva Stokes, 21, said she was marching in support of her father, who is an immigrant from Mexico.

“My father could get deported at any time,” Ms. Stokes said with tears filling her eyes. “He already has been summoned, and, you know, it’s a scary process. I don’t want to feel like I’m going to lose my dad.”

As nightfall approached, one group of about 50 protesters reached Washington Square Park, dancing and clapping by the park’s fountain.

The first day of demonstrations in New York was Saturday, when more than 100 protesters gathered outside 26 Federal Plaza, where they clashed with police officers after the protesters tried to block ICE vehicles carrying detained migrants. The police said 22 people had been taken into custody as officers dispersed the crowd.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, quickly praised the Police Department’s response. “Thankfully, unlike in Los Angeles, the local police department quickly responded to the riots,” D.H.S. said in a statement.

On Monday, after Mr. Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles, demonstrators took over the lobby of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, demanding the release of immigrants sent to a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador. The Police Department arrested at least 24 protesters during that demonstration.

Later in the day, as concerns mounted that the protests in New York could spiral out of control, Mr. Adams issued brief remarks alongside Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. The mayor said he respected the right of New Yorkers to protest peacefully but vowed that “we will not allow violence and lawlessness.”

“The escalation of protests in Los Angeles over the last couple of days is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our city,” Mr. Adams said. Commissioner Tisch said that any attack against police officers would “be met by a swift and decisive response by the N.Y.P.D.”

The city leaders made the remarks just as a disjointed group of 200 protesters gathered near 26 Federal Plaza for an “ICE out of NYC” demonstration on Monday evening, leading to seven arrests.

Cassidy Jensen, Samantha Latson, Ana Ley, Emmett Lindner and Chelsia Rose Marcius contributed reporting.