A two-week immigration sweep earlier this month netted more than 1,300 arrests around the nation’s capital, with federal authorities touting the operation’s success despite the Washington D.C.-area’s sanctuary policies.
Immigration officers took to the streets Aug. 1-14 during Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C. to find and detain illegal immigrants, mainly targeting criminal offenders, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.
In total, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 1,328 illegal immigrants as part of the coordinated roundup.
ICE arrested a Salvadoran national with a warrant for murder, a Haitian national with a criminal history of attempted murder and assault, and a Honduran native convicted of felony hit-and-run.
Gang members and violent criminals were the highest priority, and 400 now in custody had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges for crimes in the United States.
ICE officers made the arrests despite the sanctuary policies of many of the counties throughout Virginia and Maryland, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. They are expected to remain in ICE custody pending criminal or deportation proceedings.
OPERATION SAFE COMMUNITY: In one of the most successful enforcement actions in agency history, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quietly carried out "Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C.", resulting in the arrests of 1,328 illegal aliens across Virginia and… pic.twitter.com/HblR5gIZcF
— Special Report (@SpecialReport) August 24, 2026
“The brave men and women of ICE are hard at work every single day getting these dangerous illegal aliens out of our country,” Mullin said. “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.”
The operation comes as Virginia, particularly Fairfax County, Va., has had a wave of violent crime involving illegal immigrants, including murder, machete attacks and sexual offenses.
Meanwhile, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order in February terminating all state-level 287(g) agreements with ICE and instituted other state-level bans to thwart immigration enforcement.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Assistant Director Patricia Hyde noted that ICE officers are “the best in the world at finding people who do not want to be located.”
ICE officers focused on nabbing criminals, gang members and other immigration offenders in the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland. Their crimes include rape, sexual battery, kidnapping, driving while intoxicated, hit-and-run, identity theft and robbery, DHS officials said.
They also conducted targeted immigration enforcement actions throughout the entirety of the two states. Some suspects cooperated, while others tried to resist arrest or flee.
“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,” Hyde said.
NEW: @ICEgov arrested more than 1,300 illegal immigrants across Virginia and Maryland during a two-week enforcement operation.
According to @DHSgov 1,328 illegal immigrants were arrested between Aug. 1–14 as part of “Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C.”
Nearly 400 of… pic.twitter.com/OGAXIP7cLA
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) August 24, 2026
Virginians For Safe Communities President Sean Kennedy spoke to WJLA 7News and praised the operation. Kennedy is a public safety watchdog and a member of the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Advisory Board.
“It’s impressive and heartening to see ICE was able to pick up these individuals, many of them who have violent and sexually predacious criminal records that they need to come off the street,” Kennedy said.
Among those arrested, Eygner Wilfredo Huezo-Moran, from El Salvador, has a warrant for murder and use of a firearm in the commission of murder in Richmond, Va.
ICE officers and U.S. Marshals arrested Huezo-Moran in Chesterfield, Va., and turned him over to local authorities to face criminal charges. ICE also lodged an immigration detainer against Huezo-Moran and plans to remove him, pending completion of his criminal proceedings.
Immigration officers also detained German Mejia-Baires, an alleged MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, who has convictions for driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license and illegal re-entry. He was arrested in Manassas, Va.
Another MS-13 member nabbed in the sweep, Mauricio Antonio Barrera-Navidad has an extensive criminal history in El Salvador, including robbery, use and illegal possession of firearms, two counts of illicit association with illegal group (MS-13), and disorders and resistance. He was arrested in Hyattsville, Md.
ICE officers found two Guatemalans accused of sex crimes in Virgina. Angel Gabriel Ortiz-Hernandez was arrested for rape of a mentally incapacitated victim and two counts of aggravated sexual battery of an incapacitated victim.
Ronaldo Ronel Perez-Perez, from Guatemala, has a rap sheet including convictions for two counts of driving while intoxicated, hit-and-run, and illegal re-entry, and an arrest for object sexual penetration by force.
Haitian national Actionel Pierre was taken into custody in Wicomico County, Md. He has a criminal history including arrests for attempted murder, two counts of assault, possession of a dangerous weapon with intent to injure, and reckless endangerment.
ICE officers arrested Estrella Reyes-Funez, from Honduras, in Harrisonburg, Va. Reyes-Funez was convicted for felony hit-and-run and has arrests for making a threat to bomb or burn, assault and battery on a family member, and violating a protective order.
Mexican national Julio Hector Carranza-Rojano racked up convictions for sexual battery, driving while intoxicated, and hit-and-run and was arrested in Manassas, Virginia.
Rowan Andrew Brown, from Jamaica, also had convictions for identity theft, kidnapping adult, and illegal re-entry and an arrest for fraud. ICE officers arrested Brown in Alexandria, Va.
The Washington, D.C. effort closely follows Operation Safe Community – Atlanta in July, where ICE officers arrested more than 1,200 illegal alien offenders throughout the state of Georgia, DHS said.
