Federal immigration agents arrested 1,328 people across Maryland and Virginia during a sweeping two-week enforcement operation, according to the Department of Homeland Security, one of the largest recently disclosed immigration operations in the Washington region.
The operation, called Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C., ran from August 1 through August 14. DHS said nearly 400 of those arrested had either been convicted of or charged with crimes in the United States, including some people accused or convicted of serious offenses such as murder, attempted murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery and sexual battery.
Most of the people arrested during the operation were not identified by DHS as having a U.S. criminal conviction or pending criminal charge. The agency has not released a complete list of those arrested or a detailed breakdown of their immigration histories.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore criticized the way the operation was carried out, saying state officials were not notified beforehand. Moore said he supports removing violent offenders but argued that broad immigration sweeps can undermine trust between communities and law enforcement. DHS, meanwhile, defended the operation as part of the administration’s expanded effort to arrest and remove people living in the country illegally.
The operation comes amid a much larger increase in immigration enforcement nationwide. ICE arrests have risen sharply this year, while the Washington region has already experienced a significant increase in federal immigration activity. The latest two-week operation shows that Maryland and Virginia remain a major focus of that enforcement push.
