Trump S D C Takeover Has Led To More Arrests Npr Looks At Cases Of

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Oct 28, 2025, 4:42 PM

trump s d c takeover has led to more arrests npr looks at cases of

A little more than three weeks ago, President Trump placed the Washington, D.C., police under federal control and put the National Guard on the city's streets to crush crime and "clean up" the nation's... Although crime in the District of Columbia was already in decline after spiking during the pandemic, the administration has cast the operation, which also includes a surge of federal law enforcement officers, as a... "We've had some incredible results," Trump said last month while visiting law enforcement officers in southeast D.C. "It's like a different place. It's like a different city." Trump, who travels in an armored limousine with a huge security detail, also said: "I feel very safe now."

The White House said on Tuesday that 1,669 people have been arrested since the president's surge of federal officers into the nation's capital began on Aug. 7. A sizable chunk of those arrests are for immigration-related offenses. The Trump administration’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C. is escalating with arrests at high-profile locations and homeless encampments torn down. Protests also erupted in the streets after the White House said federal agents would patrol around the clock.

Amna Nawaz discussed more with Juliette Kayyem, a former Homeland Security official now at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. The Trump administration's federal takeover of Washington, D.C., is escalating, with several people arrested at high-profile locations and homeless encampments torn down. Protests also erupted in the streets last night after the White House said federal agents would patrol around the clock and the president himself hinted that his monthlong crackdown could last even longer. Get off our streets!

Get off our streets! Protesters took to the Northwest D.C. streets last night. A little more than three weeks ago, President Trump placed the Washington, D.C., police under federal control and put the National Guard on the city’s streets to crush crime and “clean up” the nation’s... Although crime in D.C. was already in decline after spiking during the pandemic, the administration has cast the operation, which also includes a surge of federal law enforcement officers, as a major success.

“We’ve had some incredible results,” Trump said last month while visiting law enforcement officers in southeast D.C. “It’s like a different place. It’s like a different city.” Trump, who travels in an armored limousine with a huge security detail, also said: “I feel very safe now.” The White House said on Tuesday that 1,669 people have been arrested since the president’s surge of federal officers into the nation’s capital began on Aug. 7.

A sizeable chunk of those arrests are for immigration-related offenses. Latest news and analysis on President Donald Trump. To deliver on President Trump’s campaign promise to deport millions of people, his administration is pushing new approaches to immigration enforcement across much of the government. Officials have closed the border to asylum-seekers. They have unleashed immigration officers, often wearing masks, to make arrests on city streets. They have revoked legal status from recent arrivals.

They have built new tent camps and re-opened prisons to hold immigrant detainees. They have pushed foreign leaders to accept deportees and local officials to allow ICE agents into their facilities and databases. As the crackdown progresses and the border remains essentially closed, both the people targeted for deportation and their journeys through the system now look very different, a New York Times analysis of government data... Most people who were deported during President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s administration were among the millions of recent arrivals arrested at the border. They were detained and quickly deported through a process called expedited removal.

As border crossings dried up, Mr. Trump lifted restrictions on whom immigration officers could target elsewhere in the country. More deportees are now drawn from this wider pool. People are typically held in detention until they can be removed, and far fewer people are released. Law enforcement officers with the Department of Homeland Security and the Metropolitan Police Department set up a traffic safety checkpoint along a busy Washington, D.C., street on Monday. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

President Trump's takeover of local D.C. police is set to expire Wednesday, even as other forms of federal control continue. On Aug. 11, Trump declared a "crime emergency" in the District of Columbia, using his authority under the 1973 Home Rule Act to activate the D.C. National Guard and take control of the district's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). But the Home Rule Act limits that power, which is meant to be used for emergencies.

He can do so for only 30 days, at which point the House and the Senate would need to authorize an extension. Congress has so far not indicated that it plans to do so. And despite Trump's earlier talk of seeking an extension, he has changed his tune in recent days, praising D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for her cooperation and touting a drop in crime in the city.

Trump S D C Takeover Has Led To More Arrests Npr Looks At Cases Of

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