By Aldra Fredly
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more than 1,300 illegal immigrants during a two-week operation in Virginia and Maryland this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Aug. 24.
The arrests were made during “Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C.,” which ran from Aug. 1 to Aug. 14 and targeted illegal immigrants with criminal histories that include convictions for sexual battery, kidnapping, driving while intoxicated, hit-and-run, identity theft, robbery, murder, attempted murder, and rape.
Federal agents arrested 1,328 illegal immigrants during the operation, with nearly 400 of them charged or convicted of crimes in the United States. The detainees also include alleged members of transnational criminal street gangs such as MS-13, 18th Street Gang, and Tren de Aragua, DHS said in a statement.
The DHS said the arrests were carried out despite sanctuary policies in many counties across Virginia and Maryland. Sanctuary policies limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
“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,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the statement.
Patricia Hyde, acting assistant director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, said the operation was intended to improve public safety in Virginia and Maryland by removing criminal illegal immigrants.
“Our officers are the best in the world at finding people who do not want to be located. That’s exactly what we did throughout the course of this operation,” Hyde said.
“Removing these criminal alien offenders from Virginia and Maryland neighborhoods makes for much safer communities, and that is exactly what the men and women of ICE work to accomplish every day across our great nation.”
A similar operation was conducted in Atlanta last month, which led to the arrest of more than 1,200 immigrants accused of living illegally in the state of Georgia, according to the department.
The Trump administration has intensified its immigration enforcement efforts nationwide, with ICE playing a major role. Tom Homan, the White House’s designated border czar, said on July 23 that arrests of illegal immigrants reached their highest levels in the 23-year history of ICE last month.
In an interview with NewsNation, Homan said that “in June, we had the highest numbers of arrests in the history of the agency of ICE and July’s tracking even beat that. So we’re hitting all cylinders now,” referring to the detaining of people living illegally in the United States.
Data released in July show that ICE has deported 356,389 immigrants so far in fiscal year 2026, meaning that roughly 1,255 people are being removed per day.
Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
