Rochester, NY – Federal immigration agents were forced to abandon an arrest operation at a residential construction site in Rochester, New York, on Tuesday morning, after a crowd of around 200 protesters confronted them, chanting “shame,” “Gestapo,” and “No ICE,” ultimately chasing them away and slashing tires on a Border Patrol SUV.
The chaotic scene in the Park Avenue neighborhood, captured on video by local lawmakers and activists, resulted in only one worker being detained, with roofing contractor Clayton Baker identifying the man as a legal employee with documentation.
The incident, which drew the entire state delegation and clergy, highlights escalating tensions over Trump administration immigration enforcement in sanctuary cities like Rochester, where local policies limit cooperation with ICE, amid a federal lawsuit filed in April challenging those protections.
The Raid and Protest Unfold
The operation targeted rooftop workers at a rental house on Westminster Road in Rochester’s upscale Park Avenue neighborhood, where ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents arrived around 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
As agents attempted arrests, word spread via social media alerts from groups like Metro Justice and the University of Rochester Graduate Labor Union, drawing over 200 protesters—including clergy from Spiritus Christi Church and First Unitarian Church—who blocked streets, jeered the agents, and made obscene gestures.
Two workers remained on the roof for nearly two hours, supplied with water and snacks by supporters who blocked ladders, while immigration attorneys used bullhorns to communicate in Spanish.
Protesters shouted “Shame!” and “Gestapo!” at masked agents, with the crowd erupting in cheers as one Border Patrol SUV drove off with four slashed tires, limping away on rims.
Video footage shared by Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart (@rachbarnhart) on X shows the SUV departing amid applause, with protesters following and yelling expletives. Only one roofer, identified by Baker as “Chino,” was detained; the others were not.
Baker told WXXI, “He’s a family guy, and he’s got a baby on the way. He’s never even had a speeding ticket that I know of. He goes to church every Sunday, and he pays his taxes.” He slammed the arrest as “unnecessary and cruel,” noting the worker had legal documentation.
The entire Rochester state delegation—Democrats including Assembly member Harry Bronson and Jen Lunsford—arrived as agents left around noon, with Bronson calling it an attempt to “pit one group of people against another.”
No arrests of protesters occurred, though Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) posted on X, “In Monroe, nearly 200 leftist activists gathered to obstruct ICE and CBP officers doing their jobs. They cheered as agents were harassed and had their truck tires slashed. @FBI should investigate this immediately.”
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ICE’s Silence and Community Backlash
ICE and CBP did not respond to requests for comment, with a CBP spokesperson confirming the operation was ICE-led but providing no details.
The raid aligns with the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation push, targeting non-criminal undocumented workers amid claims of sanctuary city obstruction.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, posted on X, “Which is why it’s pretty incredible that we are seeing that level of willingness to engage in pretty serious behavior in opposition to immigration enforcement,” highlighting the crowd’s vandalism of the federal vehicle.
Without a doubt. Which is why it’s pretty incredible that we are seeing that level of willingness to engage in pretty serious behavior in opposition to immigration enforcement. https://t.co/ispJ7dCUhq
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) September 9, 2025
Protester Ruth Reeves told WHAM, “They’re here putting on a roof, trying to make a dollar and paying taxes on that dollar, and ICE was here bothering them, so I came to bother ICE.” The demonstration, organized via social media like Reddit and X alerts, reflects Rochester’s sanctuary status, enacted in 1986 and reaffirmed in 2017, which prohibits local police from engaging in immigration enforcement except for emergencies.
The Trump administration sued Rochester on April 24, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, alleging the policy violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause by impeding federal efforts. The suit, naming Mayor Malik Evans and City Council President Miguel Meléndez, seeks to invalidate the policies and could cost the city $81 million in federal funding, mostly from HUD.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a brief on July 30, supporting Rochester, calling the suit a “baseless attack” and citing the 10th Amendment’s anti-commandeering doctrine. A similar suit against Illinois and Chicago was dismissed in July, bolstering Rochester’s defense.
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Why It Matters
The raid is part of a wave of ICE actions in New York, including a September 4, raid at a Syracuse nutrition bar factory detaining 60 workers, many non-criminal, and a September 5 Georgia battery plant raid arresting 475, mostly South Korean citizens, prompting Seoul’s diplomatic concern.
Nationwide, ICE arrests rose 25% in August, targeting workplaces despite labor shortages. Rochester’s policies, rooted in public safety and community trust, have been challenged since a March 24, traffic stop where RPD assisted ICE, violating local rules and sparking the lawsuit.
On X, #RochesterICE and #SanctuaryCity trended, with posts from @rachbarnhart showing the slashed SUV and @RepTenney calling for FBI probes. Protesters like Katie Tobin said, “This is Rochester, New York. This is a sanctuary city. Get out! We don’t want you here!”
As the Trump administration’s Rochester lawsuit progresses, the Tuesday raid shows sanctuary city resistance, potentially galvanizing local support. With ICE operations intensifying—70 workers deported from a Cato factory on September 6—protests may escalate, testing federal-local tensions.
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Rochester’s codification of sanctuary policies in August reaffirms its stance, but the suit’s outcome could impact funding and enforcement nationwide as 2026 midterms near.
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