Federal immigration agents arrested 1,328 people across the Washington, D.C. suburbs over two weeks in August, with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin blasting local sanctuary policies and claiming the operation removed gang members and violent offenders from area neighborhoods.

The sweep, dubbed "Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C.," ran from Saturday, Aug. 1 through Friday, Aug. 14, according to a DHS press release issued Monday, Aug. 24. ICE focused primarily on the D.C. suburbs in Virginia and Maryland but extended enforcement throughout both states, averaging nearly 100 arrests per day.

Of those arrested, almost 400 had been convicted of or charged with crimes in the United States, DHS said. That means roughly 930 of the 1,328 people detained had no U.S. criminal conviction or charge on record.

DHS said criminal histories among those arrested included convictions for sexual battery, kidnapping, driving while intoxicated, hit-and-run, identity theft and robbery, along with arrests for murder, attempted murder and rape. The agency said ICE also detained members of MS-13, 18th Street Gang and Tren de Aragua.

"While sanctuary politicians in Virginia and Maryland keep putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people, the Trump Administration will always put American citizens first," Mullin said in the announcement.

Among those named in the DHS release: Eygner Wilfredo Huezo-Moran, a Salvadoran national with a murder warrant in Richmond, was arrested in Chesterfield, Virginia, and turned over to local authorities. Angel Gabriel Ortiz-Hernandez, a Guatemalan national arrested in Alexandria, had prior arrests for rape and aggravated sexual battery. Mauricio Antonio Barrera-Navidad, an alleged MS-13 member from El Salvador, was arrested in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Sean Kennedy, president of Virginians For Safe Communities and a member of the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Advisory Board, told WJLA the operation was crucial. Kennedy said many of those arrested had "violent and sexually predacious criminal records" and that "they need to come off the street."

DHS criticized sanctuary policies in Virginia and Maryland counties for hindering cooperation with federal agents but did not name specific jurisdictions. No response from the D.C. mayor's office, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's office or Maryland officials was available at the time of publication.

The operation follows a similar ICE sweep in Atlanta in July that resulted in more than 1,200 arrests across Georgia. Separately, regional ICE data reported by El Tiempo Latino showed nearly 20,000 arrests in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area between January 2025 and March 2026, with 60% of those detained having no prior criminal record.

DHS has not announced a follow-up operation for the D.C. region.