Immigrant advocates tried to stop a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency operation Saturday on Canal Street by blocking the entrance to a Chinatown garage and temporarily preventing the masked agents from conducting an operation , officials and advocates said.

ICE agents needed to call in the NYPD to detain and push back the protesters as they blocked the sidewalk and the garage entrance. Cops pepper-sprayed a handful of protesters as they tried to chase the departing ICE motorcade and throw items at their vehicles.

The confrontation started just before noon as a large crowd of protesters dropped cones and stood in front of the entrance to the Centre St. garage near Howard St. — about a block from Canal St. Videos on news sites and social media show masked agents going ba

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