Last week, federal immigration authorities arrested nearly 200 illegal immigrants during a four-day operation targeting businesses in Washington, D.C.
The operation, which unfolded between May 6 to May 9, “targeted criminal alien offenders including members of transnational criminal organizations known to operate in and around Washington, D.C.,” including “the notorious MS-13, Tren de Aragua and 18th Street gangs,” according to ICE. A total of 189 people were arrested and agents “served notices of inspection to 187 local businesses,” ICE added.
“The District of Columbia is exponentially safer today because of countless hours of investigative work and dedication to duty displayed by ICE Washington, D.C. and our law enforcement partners,” said Russell Hott, the director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington, D.C., Field Office.
“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,” he added. “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.”
According to Fox5 DC, federal officials visited local eateries and other places to verify I-9 employment forms, which prove that the employees are lawfully authorized to work in the United States.
The operation was carried out by ICE and Homeland Security investigators in collaboration with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Virginia Department of Corrections, the FBI, the ATF, the DEA, the United States Marshals Service, and the United States State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service.
ICE also stated that many of the arrests were made “after local jurisdictions refused to honor immigration detainers and released the alien offenders back into their communities.”
They included “a 47-year-old illegally present Guatemalan alien whose criminal history includes drug possession, illegal reentry, aggravated assault, trespassing, disorderly conduct and sexual assault” and “a 25-year-old illegally present Guatemalan alien whose criminal history includes threat to kidnap, attempted possession of a prohibited weapon, threats to bodily harm and simple assault,” according to ICE.
Ed Martin, the interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, praised the initiative.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and this administration’s focus on law and order, these arrests mark a major step toward making Washington, D.C., safer for law-abiding citizens and their families,” Martin said. “They send a clear message: violating our nation’s immigration laws will not be ignored.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Tuesday, but Bowser said last week she was “disturbed” to learn about the arrests, according to Fox5 DC.
“It appears as though ICE is at restaurants, or even at neighborhoods, and it doesn’t look like they’re targeting criminals, and it does look like they’re disrupting,” Bowser said.
