Federal agents arrest 189 people in Trump's D.C. immigration crackdown

State of play: The sweep began last Tuesday. It was carried out by at least six federal agencies, according to the Department of Justice, ranging from ICE and Homeland Security to ATF and Diplomatic Security Service.

• It's unclear where arrests were made. The crackdown coincided with ICE activity at restaurants across the city, where agents served around 100 local businesses with inspection orders to provide I-9 employment eligibility papers.

Friction point: The DOJ said in its initial press release that D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department was involved in the crackdown. But the release was later revised to remove MPD.

• Mayor Bowser's spokesperson Susana Castillo told Axios MPD was not involved in the operation.
• When ICE activity began last week, Bowser told news outlets, "It appears that ICE is at restaurants or even in neighborhoods, and it doesn't look like they're targeting criminals, and so it is disrupting." She clarified: "No MPD activity involved."

What they're saying: In a Tuesday press conference, U.S. Attorney Ed Martin estimated that nearly a dozen of those arrested had criminal records, but "most of them are administrative."

• The DOJ alleges that at least four of the individuals arrested have lengthy criminal histories ranging from drug possession to assault, and cites "gang-affiliated tattoos" in one instance.
• The agency didn't respond to Axios' requests for records proving criminal activity.

Between the lines: Critics say many immigration sweeps aren't targeting criminals. A recent 60 Minutes investigation found that three-fourths of Venezuelan migrants flown to a notorious El Salvador prison had no known record.

• The Trump administration has pointed to tattoos as evidence of gang affiliation but gang experts say those aren't reliable identifiers.

Zoom in: Martin, whose nomination for U.S. Attorney for D.C. was pulled by Trump last week, also slammed D.C. leaders and justices as being too soft on crime and illegal immigration, blaming the city's sanctuary status for "crippling law enforcement."

• "There needs to be a robust discussion now about D.C.'s sanctuary city status and its justice system," says Martin. "And if that means that home rule is on the table to go away, well, then, so be it."

The other side: "It's intimidation," Abel Nuñez, executive director of Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), tells Axios of the recent immigration crackdown.

• His nonprofit works with D.C. communities and businesses on "know your rights" training, and how to legally protect themselves and prepare for ICE visits.
• He's worked on these issues under the Obama and Biden administrations, and during Trump's first term. But this crackdown is different, says Nuñez.

Employee I-9 audits are "typically an administrative process," says Nuñez, with notices sent to businesses. But now, "they're going in, full gear with ICE, to deliver that letter."

• At some restaurants like Millie's in affluent Spring Valley, armed authorities appeared during business hours to demand work papers.
• One veteran restaurant group that was recently served papers tells Axios they've never been audited in 25 years.

It's also rare to see so many federal agencies — beyond ICE — involved in direct immigration enforcement.

• "It's to show 'we're coming for you,'" says Nuñez. "They're trying to create an interruption point, it's not just about arrests. They're souring the milk so that people self-deport."
• Though the Trump administration is ramping up its self-deportation incentives, offering free transportation and $1,000 payouts, Nuñez says local anecdotes of people leaving voluntarily are "very few."