Updated on: October 2, 2025 / 5:19 PM EDT
/ CBS News
Washington — While President Trump billed the federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital as an effort to crack down on violent crime, internal government data obtained by CBS News shows nearly 40% of over 3,500 arrests made since the operation began in early August were strictly immigration-related.
The federal government statistics indicate that, as of Sept. 29, federal and local law enforcement officials assigned to the Trump administration’s high-profile operation in Washington, D.C., had reported making just over 3,550 arrests.
Nearly 1,400 of those arrests were counted as administrative arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, the federal agency spearheading Mr. Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Those arrests involve immigrants ICE seeks to deport because of alleged civil violations of federal immigration law, like entering the U.S. illegally or overstaying a visa. It’s unclear how many of those arrested by ICE had criminal histories in addition to their alleged civil immigration violations.
The rest of the arrests, the data indicates, had a criminal nexus. The roughly 8-week-long operation has led to the arrest of 13 homicide suspects, nearly 500 narcotics arrests and about 300 firearms-related arrests. More than two dozen of the arrests involved individuals charged with sex-related crimes.
Agents and officers deployed throughout the capital have also seized over 300 illegal guns and issued roughly 650 misdemeanor citations, plus more than 300 traffic citations, according to the data.
The federal figures also suggest ICE agents have visited over 130 work sites in Washington. Those visits can be precursors to investigations into whether individuals are working in the U.S. illegally.
In a statement to CBS News Thursday, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the “focus of President Trump’s highly successful DC operation has been to address crime committed by anyone, regardless of immigration status.”
“Many of the illegal aliens arrested during this operation were committing crimes or had outstanding warrants and prior convictions for crimes like assault, DUIs, kidnapping, drug possession, and worse including an illegal alien who had a prior arrest for raping a child,” Abigail Jackson added.
A CBS News analysis of the first three weeks of the president’s D.C. deployment showed that violent crime dropped by almost half when compared to the same 19 days in 2024.
Although Mr. Trump’s emergency order requiring local D.C. police to assist federal officials has expired, immigration and other federal agents continue to operate in the district. The Metropolitan Police Department has also kept a policy change from August that allows local police officers to share information with the federal immigration officials about individuals who are not in their custody. It also lets police officers transport federal immigration agents and detainees in their custody.
As of Sept. 29, roughly 3,000 personnel from nearly two dozen federal and local agencies were deployed in Washington, including more than 1,300 National Guard troops and 250 agents from the Department of Homeland Security, the federal figures show. That includes nearly 200 personnel from Homeland Security Investigations and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. More than 130 FBI agents and at least nine prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. were deployed as part of the effort.
When the city-wide “crime emergency” declared by Mr. Trump ended on Sept. 10, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced to reporters at a news conference that “immigration enforcement is not what MPD does, and with the end of the emergency, it won’t be what MPD does in the future.”
Asked for clarification on cooperation between D.C. police and immigration authorities on Tuesday, Bowser said, “I am aware of what’s been happening on the ground and ICE is not patrolling with MPD.”
A surge in Memphis
A similar law enforcement surge is now underway in Memphis, Tennessee, where 650 personnel from 19 federal and state agencies are patrolling the streets. So far, multi-agency teams have made 93 arrests — including 69 criminal arrests for illegal firearms, drugs and sex offenses, according to U.S. government data analyzed by CBS News. But the task force has also conducted 24 civil immigration arrests.
The deployment includes more than 100 agents dispatched by agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, including officials from HSI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Federal Protective Services.
Earlier this month, while flanked by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Mr. Trump signed an order standing up a federal task force to send to Memphis, an effort he described as a “replica” of federal law enforcement efforts in D.C. According to a CBS News data team analysis, violent crime in Memphis is down 32% so far this year, compared to the same time period in 2024.
Tennessee law requires local police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, including ICE, banning sanctuary policies statewide. Recent legislation mandates state and local police officers notify federal authorities if they encounter someone in the U.S. unlawfully. More than 20 agencies statewide now participate in what’s known as ICE’s 287(g) program, which is designed to deputize local officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions and expand the federal government’s immigration detention capacity.
In Memphis, local leaders have said their focus is crime control, not acting as immigration agents, but state law leaves little room for discretion. Earlier this month, Mayor Paul Young acknowledged community concerns about the increased federal law enforcement, but vowed to use federal resources “effectively and for the benefit of the residents of our great city.”
Lee Harris, the mayor of Shelby County, which includes Memphis, told CBS News he plans to declare an emergency to cover rising jail costs. The Trump administration’s new mandate in Memphis has sparked concern from civil rights groups like the ACLU, who warn the crackdown risks sweeping up immigrants from traffic stops and other routine interactions with police, heightening fear for thousands of residents.
What comes next
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has asked for as many as 1,000 National Guardsmen to deploy to his state. In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, the Republican leader requested troops to help “supplement law enforcement presence in high-crime areas, provide logistical and communication support and secure critical infrastructure.”
Landry noted that cities like New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport have higher crime rates, a challenge compounded by a lack of law enforcement personnel.
During a gathering of military leaders earlier this week, Mr. Trump suggested additional cities that he deemed “unsafe,” including Chicago, could see similar deployments of National Guard and military units.
In the Chicago area, immigration officials have carried out over 900 arrests as part of an effort, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, that started in early September, though the National Guard has not been involved so far. In Portland, federal officials have been dispatched to fortify an ICE facility after weeks of confrontations and protests outside the site. The president has also vowed to dispatch National Guard troops to Portland.
“We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military,” Mr. Trump told military leaders Tuesday.
Rachel Gold and
Nicole Valdes
contributed to this report.
Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the immigration reporter at CBS News. Based in Washington, he covers immigration policy and politics.
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