A growing share of arrests by the newly federalized Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department are expected to involve illegal immigrants, according to one expert.
Of the 45 arrests announced by the Trump administration on Wednesday, 29 were illegal immigrants. On Thursday, 15 of the 33 arrests were also illegal immigrants, including one suspect from China.
“It will not be surprising to hear that a significant portion of arrests that occur under the federal intervention will be criminal aliens,” Jessica Vaughan, director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital. “Washington, D.C., has long suffered from problems with street gangs that include or are majority illegal alien, in part because of sanctuary policies, but also because prior waves of illegal immigration have led to large Central American diasporas in the region.”
“Gangs like MS-13 and 18th Street like to set up shop in these areas, so they can recruit, extort, and intimidate the population. Any city that tolerates illegal immigration is going to have a problem with criminal aliens who know they will be shielded from immigration enforcement,” Vaughan added.
This week, Attorney General Pam Bondi eliminated sanctuary policies from the department, a move that overrides city laws on the issue.
Earlier Thursday, DC Police Chief Pamela Smith issued an order allowing limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The directive permitted information-sharing in cases where suspects were not in custody, such as during traffic stops, and allowed officers to provide transportation for federal immigration agents and detainees. However, Smith stopped short of enabling cooperation solely for immigration enforcement.
“This intervention by Trump is an opportunity for ICE to make up for years of being hindered by the DC government, and to clear out criminal aliens who have preyed on the law-abiding population of the city. The gangs and predators will no longer have the run of city parks and public spaces the way they have in the recent past, and the ones who are here illegally will be sent home instead of back to the streets,” Vaughan said.
Since President Donald Trump announced the police takeover on Monday, several federal agencies and the National Guard have been deployed to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C. They are now stationed at key locations throughout the capital.
“Under President Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s leadership, ICE law enforcement is being unleashed to keep America safe from dangerous criminals. As the secretary has announced, ICE and CBP have been deployed to help clean up the streets of our nation’s capital,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said.
“Our message is clear: Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States,” the spokesperson added.
