U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a two-week operation called 'Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C.' from August 1-14, 2026, arresting 1,328 people across the District of Columbia and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs. DHS said about 400 of those arrested had been charged with or convicted of crimes including murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery and drug trafficking, and that some were alleged gang members from MS-13, 18th Street Gang and Tren de Aragua. In the Richmond area, Eygner Wilfredo Huezo-Moran of El Salvador was arrested on a murder warrant, along with Ronaldo Ronel Perez-Perez of Guatemala and Haitian national Actionel Pierre, all held pending deportation. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said officials were not notified in advance and raised concerns that public footage showed older women taken from apartment buildings, workers chased through neighborhoods, families separated, and an unverified report of a broken neck during an arrest; a Migration Policy Institute analyst said most arrested lacked serious criminal records. DHS officials, including Secretary Markwayne Mullin, blamed Maryland's Community Trust Act and Virginia sanctuary policies for forcing public rather than jail-based arrests, while the ACLU of Virginia criticized the operation's tactics. The operation followed a similar effort in Atlanta, Georgia in July that resulted in more than 1,200 arrests.