After more than a dozen protesters were arrested for blocking a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown in lower Manhattan, local politicians gathered Sunday to praise the dissenters and call for all charges against them to be dropped.

Politicians including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, city Comptroller Brad Lander and City Council members Sandy Nurse and Crystal Hudson were among those who spoke up in support of the protesters at a rally at Howard and Centre Sts. in Chinatown, near the garage where activists on Saturday temporarily blocked ICE agents from leaving.

The agents called in the NYPD, and officers arrested protesters after giving multiple warnings to stop blocking the sidewalk and garage entrance. The NYPD did not immediately disclose how many protesters

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