White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday that authorities arrested 29 illegal immigrants in a single night as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on Washington, D.C.
Hundreds of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers and National Guard members conducted 45 arrests on Wednesday night, including the 29 illegal immigrants, many of whom had final removal orders, Leavitt said on Fox & Friends.
“There were 29 illegal aliens removed off of Washington, D.C.’s streets last night. Many of whom had final orders for removal,” Leavitt said. “These results are happening night after night because of the efforts of this federal task force working alongside the Metropolitan Police Department who support this effort.”
The 45 individuals faced charges including assault of a police officer, fugitive apprehension, possession of child sex abuse material, illegal firearms, drug trafficking, and even assaulting an officer with a Subway sandwich, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. Authorities also seized three illegal firearms.
During the first night of Trump’s crackdown on Monday, law enforcement arrested 23 people for homicide, firearm offenses, lewd acts, stalking, and possession of a high-capacity magazine. Arrests nearly doubled to 43 on Tuesday night.
Border czar Tom Homan told The Story with Martha MacCallum that the MPD is working “hand-in-hand” with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ensure Washington is no longer a sanctuary city.
Leavitt cited a May Washington Post poll showing that 65% of D.C. residents believe crime is an “extremely” or “very serious” problem. “The Metropolitan Police Department Union stated that President Trump is right to do this, that crime has been totally out of control in the city,” she said.
She also criticized media attempts to downplay violent crime, noting that the FBI’s data shows violent crime in D.C. has dropped only 10% since 2024, despite MPD statistics suggesting otherwise.