Washington, D.C. – The heart of the capital's Columbia Heights neighborhood used to be lined with vendors selling food, clothes and jewelry. But this week, there were only a few people offering fresh fruit and juice. The usual crush of delivery drivers on mopeds outside a Chipotle restaurant have disappeared.
Immigrants living in this area, with its large Latino population, say they have been scared to leave their homes ever since teams of federal agents started showing up to make arrests. They are carrying out a crackdown on what President Trump has declared to be a "crime emergency" but it has had an emphasis on immigration enforcement.
"I think it's very sad for people," says Janet Bernal, who's from Colombia and was pushing a toddler in a stroller. "They work hard, pay their taxes and are treated badly."
Bernal, like many of the people NPR spoke with, supports the idea of targeting criminals.
"Obviously, we have to remove people who are causing harm: the thieves, people who kidnap, people who rape," she says.
Violent crime has been a key issue for Latino voters. In 2024, nearly half voted for President Trump, the largest share for a Republican candidate in modern history.
But Bernal and others told NPR they don't like the aggressive way the federal operation is being carried out. One Latino resident says she now carries her immigration papers with her everywhere, even though it feels risky and it would be a terrible blow if she lost them.
Immigration enforcement is a big focus of Trump's crackdown
President Trump declared a "crime emergency" in the capital on Aug. 11 even though federal data shows violent crime is at its lowest level in 30 years.
"This city will no longer be a sanctuary for illegal alien criminals," President Trump said when he announced the federal push. His order included exerting federal control over the city's police department. The president has made clear he'd like to override a local law that limits D.C.'s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
On Friday, President Trump went further, accusing Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser of providing crime figures that were too low, obscuring its real impact.
"It was unsafe," he told reporters. "It was horrible and Mayor Bowser better get her act straight or she won't be mayor very long because we take it over with the Federal Government running it like it's supposed to be run."
In addition to about 800 D.C. National Guard troops deployed by President Trump, six Republican governors have sent their own troops to D.C. But National Guard soldiers have been largely deployed to tourist areas near the national monuments. Arrests are being handled by federal agencies such as the U.S. Park Police, FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as the D.C. police.
The extra federal agents will conduct "massive enforcement operations, targeting known gangs, drug dealers and criminal networks to get them the hell off the street," President Trump said. "Maybe get them out of the country because a lot of them came into our country illegally."
According to a White House statement released Thursday, more than 600 people have been arrested, including more than 250 immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. The statement said some of the immigrants were gang members, and others have been charged with assault, kidnapping, burglary, commercialized sex offenses and drug smuggling.
But community and immigration advocates say many who are in the country legally and who have no criminal record have also been arrested for minor infractions.
Traffic stops and roving patrols
Often it's hard to know who is making an arrest because agents wear gear with no identification, or vests that say simply, "Police," and many wear masks. Trump administration officials say this is for agents' safety, but immigration rights groups find it troubling.
"They claim that they're here to prevent lawlessness, but we think they are creating lawlessness," says Austin Rose, an attorney at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights.
Rose worries this operation is eroding trust in law enforcement, especially when local D.C. police officers are present alongside them. He also thinks it's less about reducing crime than meeting ICE arrest quotas.
"ICE has known where they (immigrants) are for a long time, and it's just decided they needed to detain these people," he says. "Not because someone is particularly dangerous or someone is a flight risk. It's just because they're undocumented and they want to detain as many people as they can."
Those arrested include people with ongoing asylum claims, those provided Temporary Protected Status and immigrants with work permits, says Amy Fischer, an organizer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network. The group runs an emergency hotline that she says has been ringing non-stop since Trump's order.
"We're seeing a real targeting of people that are on scooters because they are really, sort of easy targets," she says. Agents have set up traffic checkpoints and detained people for a broken taillight or driving without a license. They've been deployed to Metro transit stations and caught people who don't pay the fare.
"It really feels like there's just like these roving patrols that will find literally any reason to be able to arrest someone," Fischer says.
It's left some immigrants afraid to leave their homes, even to go to work or shop for food. Fischer's group is organizing volunteers to deliver food and help people get by as long as the operation lasts.
D.C.'s home rule allows an emergency federal takeover for 30 days, although Trump has said he'd like Congress to extend it.
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