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.
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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.
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