4 months in, activists say Trump’s operation in Washington targets immigrants

By GARY FIELDS and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump launched a law enforcement operation in Washington, D.C., four months ago, he billed it as a mission to fight rampant crime.

But activists and local leaders say that description belies what has emerged as a simultaneous crackdown on immigrants, who have grown increasingly concerned for their status and safety in the city.

One-third of all arrests made during the operation were immigration-related, according to official figures reviewed by The Associated Press. Activists and immigrants say arrests are frequent and frightening. A lawsuit alleges they are often unlawful. And with no end in sight to the surge in law enforcement in the city, there is no indication the immigration arrests will end.

The threat to immigrants in the city has now become routine, the activists and local leaders say.

Immigration enforcement sweeps are “not making the nightly news anymore because it’s business as usual,” said Washington council member Brianne K. Nadeau.