Emotional Reporter Says New York City Looks Like ‘War Zone’ As Alleged Agitators Clash With Feds

NewsNation correspondent Jessica Kartalija said Tuesday during on-the-ground reporting that Manhattan looked like a “war zone” as she witnessed alleged agitators clash with federal officials.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were reportedly conducting an operation near Canal Street between Church and Broadway, allegedly detaining at least one person, according to PIX11. Following the incident, chaos reportedly broke out on Lafayette Street as a crowd formed, eventually moving toward 26 Federal Plaza, New York City’s immigration courts and an ICE holding facility.

“But this is Manhattan, and it’s 2025, and it looks like a war zone out here. People are masked up, they’re not showing their faces. Everyone has a cell phone out. They’re videoing it and sending it back. It’s just causing such a stir. And, you know, to be totally honest, it’s very difficult to watch,” Kartalija emphatically said.

“This is a city that we love. This is a city where there are so many people who are working very hard. It’s just so incredibly divisive. And regardless of what your view is, it’s a difficult situation all around,” Kartalija added.

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Kartalija could be seen spotting someone on the ground being arrested by federal officials. Running toward the incident, the NewsNation correspondent noted that she had previously seen the individual pushing ICE agents and police officers.

“Now, again, this person, we’ve been watching this person. He has been pushing ICE agents and police, and people have been defending him. There’s another woman right in front. She was also pushing some of these officers. Whether they know someone who was arrested by police for being undocumented is unclear. Again, we’re trying to figure out how many arrests there actually were, there were undocumented immigrants as opposed to protesters, ” a visibly distressed Kartalija continued.

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“At this point, these are protesters who are being arrested,” Kartalija said. “I know that there’s a lot of discussion as to whether people come down and kind of stir the pot in some of these situations. Whether he was one of those protesters or activists, there has been this group of people. This woman also kind of threw herself in front of vehicles. We thought she had gotten hit by a car momentarily.”

Kartalija noted that the man being arrested had his face completely covered, prompting federal officials to remove the mask.

Eventually, two women spoke with Kartalija, claiming officials had “thrown” a woman to the ground for no reason, seemingly referring to the woman she had previously mentioned who was throwing herself in front of vehicles.

“People are angry with us for covering this. There’s just a lot of anger overall. But as you can see, it’s some of the same people that have been walking all the way across. And they’re just so angry. I’ve never seen people just so emotional about all of this,” Kartalija added.

The protest in New York City comes just days after millions of demonstrators flooded major U.S. cities to “reject” so-called “authoritarianism” and President Trump’s policies, including those involving ICE. Opposition from Democrats to the agency has grown since Trump resumed his immigration crackdown after returning to office in January.

In June, Los Angeles — another Democratic-led city — saw major anti-ICE protests and riots that left a federal building covered in graffiti, a Waymo car burned and a handful of official vehicles destroyed.

ICE did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.