WashingtonIn Washington’s Columbia Heights area, the main strip is always packed with vendors selling apparel, souvenirs, fresh fruit, and pupusas. However, Tuesday seemed different: There were fewer of the white tents that bulge with food and commerce than usual.
Yassin Yahyaoui, a jewelry and glass figure vendor, stated that throughout the past week, everything has ceased. He claimed that the majority of his clients and other merchants, especially those who understand Spanish, have simply vanished.
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One of the numerous pieces of evidence demonstrating the impact of President Donald Trump’s decision to saturate the nation’s capital with federal law enforcement and immigration officials was the unusually quiet roadway. Although most of the emphasis has been on troop deployments and foot patrols in downtown and around the National Mall, life in historically diverse communities like Columbia Heights is also changing.
While local officials have denounced the strong engagement in the city’s affairs, the White House has attributed Trump’s crackdown with hundreds of arrests.
According to a person familiar with the matter who was not permitted to speak publicly, the conflict intensified on Tuesday when the chief federal prosecutor in D.C. launched an inquiry into whether police officers had fabricated crime statistics. The investigation may be used to support Trump’s assertions that, despite data indicating progress, the city is experiencing a crime emergency. Both the police department and the mayor’s office chose not to comment.
Stops can be seen across the city.
A moped driver delivering pizza was stopped by local police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a few blocks from Yahyaoui’s place of business. The agents donned tactical vests and drove unmarked vehicles; one wore a green balaclava to protect his face. The driver was interrogated and asked to produce documents attesting to his work and legal residency. No one was taken into custody.
Since the federal operation started on August 7, 450 people have been arrested, according to the White House. The president signed an executive order on August 11 placing the police department under federal authority for 30 days; an extension would need congressional approval. The Trump administration has also increased immigration enforcement.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that Trump was unreservedly defending the security of law-abiding Americans.
Business is worse now than it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Glorida Gomez, who has been operating a fruit stand in Columbia Heights for over ten years. According to her, a lot of vendors stopped attending because they were terrified of dealing with federal investigators.
The government needs to show greater compassion. “Remember that these are individuals who are impacted,” she remarked. Instead of attacking or discriminating against community people, the government should be protecting them.
Another merchant, Reina Sosa, claimed that consumers are less inclined to spend money.
According to her, they are keeping it in case something occurs, such as being arrested by immigration officials.
Some of the arrests have been caught on camera by bystanders. The video of Christian Enrique Carias Torres being arrested in a different area of the city on Saturday morning after a confrontation with ICE officers went viral on social media. Carias Torres kicked one of the agents in the leg, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit, and another was hurt when he fell during the altercation and hit his head on the sidewalk. Carias Torres was charged on Tuesday for resisting arrest after being subdued with a stun gun.
In the city, there has been a jumble of government agencies. On Tuesday morning, about 20 FBI, Homeland Security, Park Police, and U.S. Marshals personnel stormed an apartment complex in the Petworth area. While being handcuffed by officers, a man held out his hands through a window. Witness Yanna Stelle, 19, claimed to have heard officers moving around the hallways and talking on walkie-talkies.
She claimed that there were too many police officers there in the morning, especially for the purpose of executing a warrant.
There are plans to bring in additional National Guard soldiers from other states.
Trump appears interested in increasing the pressure based on his words and actions. Republican-led states have been urged by his administration to send additional National Guard soldiers. In addition to the 800 troops from the National Guard, which is based in Washington, D.C., Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, West Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio have agreed to send a total of 1,100 troops to the city.
On the streets and in Congress, opposition to that idea is beginning to emerge. Rep. Sam Liccardo, a Democrat from California, filed a bill Tuesday that would mandate a report detailing the legal justification and cost of any National Guard deployment that is not tied to a natural disaster. Reporting on any encounters between the Guard and civilians as well as other facets of the operation would be necessary.
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s non-voting representative in the House of Representatives, is among the 44 Democrats who have joined the cause. The measure is an indication of a broader Democratic response to Trump’s extraordinary actions in Washington, even if it has little chance of succeeding as long as Republicans control the chamber.
Are cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., a prelude to a more widespread authoritarian takeover of smaller communities? “What?” Liccardo inquired. The founders of the nation were wary of “executive control of standing armies,” he continued.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson claimed that Democrats still support criminals over law-abiding citizens.”
What sort of help will be provided?
Regarding criminality, it is unclear what assistance the National Guard will be able to offer.
According to Jeff Asher, a crime analyst and consultant with AH Datalytics, “the National Guard is not law enforcement trained, and they are not going into places where they would be engaged in law enforcement activity.” Therefore, I’m not sure if it’s reasonable to have high expectations.
In a social media post, Trump claimed that his program had gone from making Washington the most dangerous city in the US to possibly the safest, and that things were improving every hour!
According to Metropolitan Police data, the number of offenses reported in D.C. did decrease by almost 8% this week compared to the previous week. That data showed some variety, with homicides staying constant, burglaries slightly increasing, and crimes like car thefts and robberies decreasing.
According to Asher, a week is still a very tiny sample size and insufficient time for data to reveal significant changes. “I think 30 days is too short of a period to really say anything,” he added, referring to the month-long period during which the president can exercise control over the police force under D.C.’s home rule law.
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This report was written by Ashraf Khalil, Alanna Durkin Richer, Jacquelyn Martin, and Michael Kunzelman of the Associated Press.
