New York City’s Canal Street for decades has been a hub for vendors to make a quick buck selling fake luxury designer products. Many of these vendors are migrants who are able to maintain a living selling Gucci glasses and Prada bags of dubious origin.

On Oct. 21, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided the busy market street and made several arrests that were met with protests by locals and government officials . A day later, the street was barren, and a majority of the migrants had not come back to sell.

“(ICE) was asking people for their IDs and their status in America, and they happened to arrest a lot of people,” said Awa Ngam, one of the few vendors who returned to the street to sell after the ICE raid. Ngam, unlike those who were arrested, has become an American citizen

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