What the White House once promoted as a sweeping crackdown on violent crime in Washington, D.C., is now being met with controversy. Announced as a “monthlong federal crime emergency” by President Donald Trump, the initiative was framed as a bold effort to target gangs, guns, and drugs in the nation’s capital. But newly released data reveals a different reality: nearly half of the arrests weren’t tied to violent crime at all—they were immigration-related.
According to the Associated Press, of the 2,300 arrests made during the surge, more than 40% were connected to immigration violations. Roughly 940 individuals were taken into federal custody on immigration charges, and only a fraction had prior criminal records—many of them minor or decades old.
What the Operation Promised
Standing alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi and senior DHS officials, Trump invoked Section 740 of the Home Rule Act to declare a “crime emergency” in D.C. The move gave federal agencies—including ICE, ATF, and the FBI—broad powers to operate in the city. The president promised to restore safety, reduce murders, and take illegal firearms off the streets.
And at first glance, some results backed those claims: officials reported over a dozen homicide suspects arrested, at least 20 alleged gang members taken down, and more than 220 illegal guns seized. For a city grappling with rising shootings and carjackings, these victories looked like progress.
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