Multiple people were taken into custody by the NYPD during a protest in Chinatown Saturday afternoon after protesters gathered outside a parking garage at Centre Street and Howard Street where ICE agents were reportedly stationed in preparation for an immigration raid.  As with many of these incidents across the country in recent months, activists were somehow tipped off to the location of the ICE rally point.

Chaos and violence ensued as protesters blocked government vehicles (which is illegal), obstructed roadways (also illegal), threw items into the road to create obstacles (very illegal) and damaged public and private property (about as far from legal protest as it gets).  The NYPD was called by residents reporting the blocked streets and was not there specifically to aid ICE.  

The coordination of these groups is rather complex (not grassroots) and is handled by NGOs running call centers (rapid response hotlines).  These centers collect information from anonymous sources and then send out activists for on the ground verification.  Trained activists are then notified by phone or by text of an ICE location in their area. 

The protesters are paid, often by stipend or reimbursement, allowing low wage or jobless people to work as a mob for hire. 

There are a number of NGOs that run these operations in the NY area, but the largest is "Make The Road New York", a group which is often cited for its involvement in anti-ICE actions.  MRNY receives tens-of-millions of dollars in funding from globalist NGOs like the Ford Foundation, George Soros' Open Society Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation.  They have also collected government grants in the past and have worked closely with Democrat Politicians like former NY Mayor Bill de Blasio.

As we saw in the North Carolina ICE raids, NGO funded networks run training seminars for activists, teaching them methods for obstruction and provocation.  Again, there is nothing "grassroots" about these organizations.  Without funding for ultra-wealthy international non-profits, most of these protest would probably not exist. 

Then, of course, there's the lack of any real deterrent to their tactics.  Local police make minimal arrests despite the endless criminal violations.  Riot police are rarely deployed and riot tactics are avoided; this puts the police at risk while enabling the paid protesters.  A little CS spray would go a long way in dispersing these mobs, but they seem to be protected from serious repercussions and ICE is limited in their manpower.

These provocations may simply be designed to force the Trump Administration's hand, requiring Trump to deploy the national guard.  This then allows the leftist media and Democrat politicians to accuse Trump of "authoritarianism".  At some point, the optics need to take a back seat to practicality.

The majority (66%) of Americans support deportations for illegal immigrants and the public voted for Trump based in large part on his promises to reverse the immigration disaster created by Joe Biden and the Democrats.  NGO funded activism is a direct violation of the will of the voters and eventually, it will have to be dealt with at the source.