The Justice Department announced last week that 189 illegal immigrants were arrested in Washington, D.C., during an operation that took place around the same time federal immigration authorities visited several restaurants in the area.
The DOJ billed the raid as part of the “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful” effort but did not specify where the operation occurred. It stated that from May 6 to 9, it focused on “egregious criminal alien offenders” in the Washington, D.C. area. Ed Martin, the outgoing interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, described the arrests as “a major step forward in making Washington, D.C., safer for legal citizens and their families.”
Several eateries in Washington reported visits from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers last week, with requests to complete I-9 forms to check the legality of their employees. According to law enforcement officials, no arrests were made in response to the inspection letters.
In its Tuesday announcement, the DOJ made no connection between the two investigations but did name some of the illegal immigrants targeted by the operation, including accused criminal immigrants from Guatemala with a history of multiple crimes.
“Working with our partner agencies, ICE officers and agents arrested 189 illegal aliens and removed them from the streets of our Nation’s Capital. Throughout this enhanced enforcement operation, we targeted the most dangerous alien offenders in some of the most crime-infested neighborhoods in the city of Washington, D.C. Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations D.C. Field Office Director Russell Hott said in a statement.
“I commend the efforts of everyone involved, as all were truly committed to the success of this operation. ICE Washington, D.C., remains dedicated to our mission of prioritizing public safety by arresting and removing criminal offenders from our Nation’s Capital and surrounding communities,” Hott added.
The Trump administration has taken a particular interest in Washington, promising to reduce crime and improve public safety there. President Donald Trump pushed local officials to clean up homeless encampments and make other reforms, and he threatened federal action in the district’s home rule if progress was not made.
The president’s March executive order, “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful,” called for “directing maximum enforcement of Federal immigration law and redirecting available Federal, State, or local law enforcement resources to apprehend and deport illegal aliens in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area,” among other efforts.
