WASHINGTON—In the neighborhood of Mount Pleasant, which has a large Hispanic population, a local plaza has become the center of a standoff between residents and federal immigration officers deployed under President Trump’s security crackdown in the capital
Since the administration’s law-enforcement surge in Washington began last week, federal agents have swarmed the surrounding streets. More than a half-dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in masks and sunglasses were at the plaza this past Friday, posing for a videographer before tearing down an anti-ICE banner.
We’re taking America back, baby,” one of them said, facing the camera as they walked away. A video of them was later posted by the agency. That night there was a new banner that said, “No Deportations in Mount Pleasant.” Residents scrawled chalk messages on the sidewalk that said, “Keep ICE out of DC,” and played Latin music.
When Trump announced on Aug. 11 that he would deploy hundreds of National Guard members and federalize the local police to “take back” the capital, he framed the mission as a crackdown on violent crime. He cited cases of children killed by gun violence and the assault of a former DOGE staffer by teenagers
In practice, the most visible impact of Trump’s federal takeover has been the immigration-enforcement effort in places including Mount Pleasant. Authorities have pulled delivery drivers off mopeds, arrested construction workers and demanded proof of legal status from vendors selling mangos and watermelons. Vehicle checkpoints have sprung up nightly, and ICE vans have parked outside daycare centers and churches that tend to employ immigrants.
A few days after Trump’s announcement, Attorney General Pam Bondi directed D.C. police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Of the 465 total arrests from the start of operations in the District of Columbia through Tuesday, roughly 44%, or 206, have been arrests of immigrants in the country illegally, according to a White House official. The official said many of the immigrants arrested had outstanding warrants, ties to gangs or drug convictions.
“If federal law enforcement…come across illegal aliens, of course we are going to abide by this administration’s policy of law and order,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. “They will be detained and deported.”
Residents said what they have seen tells a different story. Federal immigration officers, often accompanied by the local police, have appeared to target businesses, daycare centers, churches and community organizations, according to interviews with witnesses and families, as well as videos shared by onlookers and government social-media accounts. Federal officers have been positioned with local police at checkpoints, where they have asked for identification.
An ICE spokeswoman said enforcing immigration laws and combating crime were part of the same mission. “We will support the re-establishment of law and order and public safety in D.C., which includes taking drug dealers, gang members and criminal aliens off city streets,” the spokeswoman said.
Federal law allows immigration officers to check vehicles within 100 miles of a U.S. border. In a 1976 decision, the Supreme Court allowed routine questioning at a checkpoint on Interstate 5 near San Clemente, Calif. Scott Michelman, legal director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia, said it would be “very unusual, if not unprecedented,” to apply that authority to a city like Washington, where the nearest border is with the sea.
“It’s ludicrous to think you need a border checkpoint on 14th Street to catch immigrants who swam across the Atlantic,” he said.
Authorities have targeted delivery drivers who often cluster on mopeds outside restaurants waiting for orders. During the arrests, the authorities have on several occasions refused onlookers’ offers to translate.
Nannies and children watched as ICE agents raided a business across from the Mount Pleasant library during story time, according to two parents. Officers have also stood in big groups outside grocery stores, many wearing ski masks or tactical vests that often only say “police.” At a nearby church, Shrine of the Sacred Heart, an usher was arrested on his way to services, according to a priest.
Sometimes agents have made videos of their arrests for social media, publicizing their activities through the official ICE account.
In the Capitol Hill neighborhood, a D.C. police car rammed a Grubhub driver off his moped, leaving him sobbing on the ground with an injured arm, according to three witnesses. About two dozen police and ICE agents swarmed the scene, carting away his bike before handcuffing him to a gurney as an ambulance took him away.
Allison McManus, a local resident who witnessed the incident, said she asked why ICE was involved in what police described as a registration violation. “They’re just riding along with us on all our operations now,” she said a police officer told her.
A spokeswoman for D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department said the incident was under investigation.
In addition to ICE, an alphabet soup of federal agencies has been deployed to neighborhoods across the district, including Customs and Border Protection, the Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as smaller agencies such as the U.S. Park Police and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service.
Meanwhile, hundreds of National Guard soldiers have been posted in tourist areas including the National Mall and Metro stations to serve as a visible presence, according to Defense Department officials. The troops have so far been unarmed and aren’t authorized to make arrests. Officials expect 2,000 guardsmen from six states and D.C. will be deployed in the city.
The Trump administration’s takeover of D.C., which votes overwhelmingly Democratic, is deeply unpopular within the district. Three top officials—including Vice President JD Vance—were interrupted by demonstrators yelling “Free DC” during a photo opportunity Wednesday with National Guard troops at Union Station.
The administration has said the crackdown is working. “People that haven’t gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C., in two years are going out to dinner,” Trump said Monday.
Amie Santos, a resident of the Petworth neighborhood and mother of two young children, described an environment of heightened alarm. She said she hears helicopters from the U.S. Park Police flying overhead almost every night. Her 5-year-old son’s school has enhanced security measures, and the nanny who cares for her 17-month-old daughter is scared to walk down the street to the park, Santos added.
“We have had discussions about what to do if she is stopped by federal agents,” Santos said.
Earlier this week, federal agents parked outside Casa Lala, a bilingual daycare center near Mount Pleasant, and made arrests. “The staff were terrified. Students were scared. Parents were scared,” Santos said.
She said her 5-year-old son “asked if Donald Trump was going to come into his school.”
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