Trump’s Crackdown on DC Crime Surges Arrests of Immigrants, Sparks Controversy and Political Tensions

In the seven days following the White House’s assumption of authority over Washington D.C.’s police force and the deployment of federal agents and troops, a decline in reported crime occurred concurrently with an increased number of arrests of undocumented immigrants. This is according to a comprehensive analysis of government data by an unspecified source.

During the week commencing August 12, property crimes dropped approximately 19% compared to the preceding week, while violent crime decreased by about 17%, as per the most recent public data released by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The decrease in overall crime is not uniform across all types of offenses, with robberies and car break-ins experiencing a drop of over 40%, whereas other thefts remained consistent week-to-week. Burglary cases saw a 6% increase, and assault with a dangerous weapon had a 14% surge. There have been two murders since President Donald Trump’s executive order, which is in line with the city’s recent trends, although none have occurred since August 13.

The drop in overall crime coincides with federal agencies working alongside local officers to assist in arrests, searches, warrant executions, and other police duties within the district. Federal agents can be identified by their vehicles equipped with occasional flashing blue and red lights.

Simultaneously, the influx of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the district led to a significant increase in arrests of undocumented immigrants. Since August 7, federal officials have apprehended approximately 300 individuals without legal immigration status in DC — a figure that represents over ten times the typical weekly ICE arrest numbers for the district.

During Trump’s first six months in office, ICE arrested around 12 immigrants per week on average in DC, according to data published by the Deportation Data Project, an affiliate research group of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

ICE agents follow MPD officers, ready to intervene if anyone stopped or questioned is found to be in the country illegally. In response to these findings, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated that the media was attempting to downplay the “remarkable results” of Trump’s efforts in DC.

“The drops in crime are not ‘moderate,’ they are transformative for countless DC residents and visitors who have avoided becoming victims of violent crime in the past week,” Jackson said. “The objective of this operation remains the removal of dangerous criminals from the streets, regardless of immigration status.”

However, the increased number of arrests of undocumented immigrants has sparked concerns among some DC leaders, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, who believes that Trump’s local takeover might be aimed at pursuing undocumented immigrants. When asked whether Trump’s crime emergency is a pretext for immigration enforcement efforts, Bowser stated, “You can draw your own conclusions.”

DC’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit challenging an order issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi that ignores sanctuary laws in effect in DC, which previously limited the police force’s ability to collaborate with ICE on immigration cases. During a hearing last week, a federal judge presiding over the case indicated that Trump’s authority under the Home Rule Act may allow him to order police to assist ICE.

Viral videos have emerged this week depicting ICE agents apprehending immigrants, including food delivery workers, and even breaking car windows to arrest individuals. During one evening of increased police presence this week, CNN tracked officers responding to reports of shootings, drug and firearm possessions, and a stolen vehicle. Federal agents communicated over local police channels as they stopped and searched vehicles and responded to crime reports, cautioning each other about DC’s speed cameras.

MPD and federal partners have also established traffic checkpoints in the past week—an uncommon law enforcement tactic in the district—including a large checkpoint with dozens of officers and agents on a highway leading out of the city. Officers were seen pulling over certain vehicles for searches, although it was unclear how they determined whom to stop and whom to allow through.

As night fell, police chatter picked up, with local and federal officers working together in long convoys of flashing lights and speeding unmarked cars. Some incidents, like a shooting in one of the city’s higher crime areas in the Southeast region, were handled solely by MPD officers.

One resident in the area expressed frustration following a shooting, stating, “They only come when bad things happen.” On Wednesday night, there appeared to be relatively few federal agents patrolling the streets of DC on foot, although they remained stationary in nondescript vehicles, waiting for calls to come through the radio.

Residents’ opinions regarding Trump’s police takeover and deployment of the National Guard and FBI are divided. According to a Washington Post-Schar School poll, roughly eight in ten DC residents oppose these actions. Vice President JD Vance and other administration figures have dismissed this survey finding, claiming without evidence that the federal surge is popular with local residents.

The full picture of crime in DC under Trump’s control is still evolving. The statistics analyzed by CNN are based on preliminary data available as of Friday morning and may change over time, as some crimes take longer to be entered into the department’s database. Additionally, the data does not cover all crimes in the city; only certain types of offenses are reported daily by the department.

The statistics have become a political flashpoint in Trump’s takeover. On Friday, the president took to social media to threaten “a complete and total federal takeover of the City,” accusing Bowser of disseminating “false and highly inaccurate crime figures.” While local officials have pointed to a decline in DC crime in 2024 and 2025 after a spike in 2023, the Trump Justice Department is now investigating whether MPD manipulated crime data.

The investigation follows reports that an MPD commander was placed on administrative leave due to allegations of the department falsifying crime data in one district, marking offenses as lower-level crimes than they might actually be. The MPD’s own probe into this matter is ongoing.

Trump has also exaggerated the impact of the federal takeover, claiming that it has resulted in a public safety “miracle” unparalleled in recent memory—the nation’s capital going a week without a single reported homicide. It is indeed correct that there have been no murders in DC over the past week, according to the public MPD data. However, this is not the first week without homicides, as Trump claimed. There were no murders reported from May 4 through May 11, April 11 to 17, and a more than two-week-long period from February 25 through March 12.

There have been a total of 89 homicides so far in 2025, according to the district’s data. In some cases, murders are confirmed and added into the public MPD database weeks or months after they occur, so it is possible that additional cases will be added.

Protests against the crackdown have been sporadic, with residents in some neighborhoods taking to the streets after ICE or other federal agents are spotted, sometimes forming crowds around the officers and chanting for them to leave. In court, Justice Department attorneys stated that Trump’s authority over the MPD will expire at the end of the 30-day period outlined in the Home Rule Act—which the president has invoked for his authority. However, neither the DOJ nor the White House have said whether Trump will continue to use federal agents and the hundreds of National Guard members he has deployed after his month of control over the police department expires. The president himself has stated that he could keep them there “as long as I want.”