Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, issued a public appeal on Thursday asking New Yorkers to send in any photos or videos they captured of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. She announced the creation of a new online portal, described as a “review” mechanism for federal immigration enforcement in New York. This move comes in the wake of a recent ICE operation on Canal Street in New York City, which resulted in nine arrests of undocumented individuals with alleged criminal records.
In her announcement, James wrote on the social-media platform X that the portal is being launched in response to the raid. She asked people who were present during the operation to submit any footage they may have captured, pledging that her office would examine the material thoroughly and follow up on possible legal violations. “Every New Yorker has the right to live without fear or intimidation,” she said. “If you witnessed and documented ICE activity yesterday, I urge you to share that footage with my office. We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law. No one should be subject to unlawful questioning, detention, or intimidation.”
Her announcement coincides with action by other federal- and local-level actors. Just days earlier, Robert Garcia (D-CA) told reporters that Democrats serving on the House Oversight Committee are developing what he called a “master ICE tracker” — a nationwide mechanism to monitor federal immigration enforcement operations. Similarly, Dan Goldman (D-NY) criticized ICE during a press conference for detaining U.S. citizens for nearly 24 hours during the Canal Street raid, without charging them, calling the practice “lawless terror.”
In California, where local authorities anticipate a possible influx of ICE activity, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated that state and local officials may arrest federal agents if they violate California law — though legal experts caution that prosecuting federal officers is complicated when agents are acting within their federal authority.
At the same time that James is focusing strongly on immigration-enforcement oversight, she herself is facing separate legal issues. She is scheduled to appear in federal court in Virginia to answer mortgage-fraud allegations. Prosecutors claim she misrepresented information on a mortgage application in 2020 when purchasing a property, securing more favorable terms on the loan. The property was later rented out, which the loan terms forbade. According to the federal filing, she saved roughly $18,933 over the life of the loan by claiming the property was a second residence.
In short: New York’s AG has set up a portal to collect public submissions of ICE activity in the state, following a high-profile raid. She aims to use the footage to investigate for possible violations of law. Meanwhile, the federal government and lawmakers are simultaneously building tools to track immigration enforcement, and James is under legal scrutiny herself.