New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch warned that any anti- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in the city that turn violent will be met with the full force of police resources and arrests.

Speaking at a joint news conference Friday at NYPD headquarters, both Adams and Tisch said they will protect the First Amendment rights of some estimated 5,000 to 10,000 protesters expected to gather on Saturday at various points.

But referring to recent events in Los Angeles, where violence was directed against police and federal immigration officials, Adams said any violence against officers in New York will not be tolerated.

"We are not going to romanticize what disorder does to a city," Adams said. "We can’t allow that here."

A small minority of violent protesters will not be allowed to impact the city, its citizens and businesses, Adams said.

The mayor and the police commissioner said that they expected the overwhelming majority of protesters to be peaceful as they march in protest of the Trump Administration immigration policies. 

Officials said that as of Friday, some 13 demonstrations were being monitored, with the largest occurring in Manhattan at Bryant Park and Madison Square Park. Some events are expected in the other boroughs, but the main body of action is expected to be in Manhattan, where a large gathering might coalesce at Foley Square, where earlier protests took place, with some violence which led to nearly 90 arrests.

Officials said that one wild card which might impact crowd size was the weather which is forecast to have rain Saturday during the morning and afternoon hours.

To control the situation, Tisch said that the department’s Strategic Response Group (SRG) will be deployed and that thousands of officers will be on duty. Tisch would not give a precise number of officers being used. 

One tactic used by police for demonstrations is to have strategic response group officers on bicycles, something police officials said makes them more mobile and able to respond faster to evolving situations on the streets.

On Friday, department preparations were on display at police headquarter, where scores of uniformed officers, possibly in anticipation of demonstrations later in the day, were briefed and given black plastic tie-wraps to cuff any potential arrestees. Some of the officers were equipped with helmets and short batons.

Tisch said police operations related to the demonstrations were being monitored at the special Joint Operations Center, where NYPD Chief of Department John Chell would be overseeing things.

Tisch also made reference to not only recent events in Los Angeles but also the sudden air operations by Israel against Iran, all of which she said put the city in "a heightened threat environment."

Rebecca Weiner, head of the NYPD intelligence and counter terrorism operations, said the department has been monitoring social media and web activity to keep abreast of possible threats. "This is something we do everyday," Weiner said.