Unlicensed sellers peddling counterfeit goods were finally cleared off Canal Street, and somehow City Council Member Justin Brannan thinks I’m the problem. Two days before the raid, a video I filmed in the neighborhood went viral—highlighting the chaos, the shameless sale of knockoffs, and the impact on everyday New Yorkers. Brannan lashed out, smearing me as a “far-right poverty tourist.” In reality, I’m a New Yorker who cares deeply about our city’s quality of life.
A closer look at the nine migrants arrested on Tuesday shows this wasn’t just a matter of street vending. According to law enforcement, these individuals are linked to a slate of serious offenses: drug trafficking, robbery, forgery, narcotics possession, burglary, assaulting officers, counterfeiting, and domestic violence. This marketplace didn’t just clog sidewalks—it undercut legitimate shop owners and made the area hostile for visitors and locals alike.
Despite what Brannan claims, this isn’t about targeting people facing poverty. And it’s not the noble “street vending” Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani romanticizes. What’s taken root on Canal Street is a counterfeit economy run by con artists who make our streets less safe.
New York City has become the epicenter of America’s immigration-management crisis. Since 2022, roughly 220,000 migrants have arrived here, and taxpayers have shouldered more than $7 billion in costs. I’ve witnessed newly arrived migrants receive free hotel rooms in Times Square, complimentary plane tickets, MetroCards, food, and medical care—while long-time homeless New Yorkers bed down on the sidewalks. Canal Street is just one manifestation of a broader failure: lax enforcement and political grandstanding that leave residents to deal with the fallout.
Most New Yorkers I talk to are relieved to see Canal Street cleaned up and want basic law and order restored citywide. The disconnect isn’t with the public—it’s with politicians who refuse to acknowledge what’s happening right in front of them.
Savanah Hernandez is a reporter and contributor for Turning Point USA. Find her on X at @sav_says_.
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