WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (DC Times Online) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 1,328 people during a 14-day enforcement operation focused on Washington, D.C., and surrounding parts of Virginia and Maryland, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The operation, called “Operation Safe Community — Washington, D.C.,” ran from Aug. 1 through Aug. 14, 2026. ICE is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS said almost 400 of those arrested had either criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. The agency did not provide a breakdown showing how many people fell into each category, and the available information does not show how many arrests occurred inside the District compared with Virginia and Maryland.
What did the operation target?
The operation primarily focused on the District of Columbia but extended into the Washington suburbs and other areas of Virginia and Maryland, according to DHS and ICE statements.
Federal officials said the arrests included people associated with MS-13, the 18th Street Gang and Tren de Aragua. The agency did not provide individual arrest totals for those groups in the information available for this report.
DHS also listed rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, driving under the influence, robbery and attempted murder among the offenses tied to convictions or pending charges involving people arrested. The agency’s figures do not distinguish which allegations resulted in convictions and which remained pending.
A criminal charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt. A conviction means a court has found a person guilty or the person has pleaded guilty. The materials released about the operation do not provide case numbers, charging documents or court dispositions for the nearly 400 people identified by DHS.
What is known about the murder-warrant arrest?
One person identified by ICE was Eygner Wilfredo Huezo-Moran, described by the agency as a Salvadoran national wanted in Richmond, Virginia, on a murder warrant.
ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Huezo-Moran in Chesterfield, Virginia, according to ICE’s account. He was turned over to local authorities for the Richmond criminal case, while ICE requested a later transfer to federal custody for deportation proceedings.
The available information does not identify the court handling the murder case, provide a case number or describe the underlying allegation beyond the warrant. A warrant signals that authorities are seeking a person in connection with a case; it is not a criminal conviction.
Why does the geographic scope matter?
Although the operation was named for Washington, D.C., it was regional rather than limited to the District. DHS said ICE carried it out despite sanctuary policies in some Virginia and Maryland jurisdictions. The agency did not identify the specific counties or legal provisions involved.
The operation’s total therefore cannot be used to calculate a D.C.-only arrest figure. DHS has not provided, in the information available here, a public arrest roster or a county-by-county breakdown.
The arrest figures and criminal-history descriptions come from DHS and ICE statements. The available information does not include an ICE or DHS primary arrest report, individual warrant files, conviction records or statements from defense lawyers or the people arrested.
