ICE and DHS agents head out to patrol DC in unmarked vehicles

(21 Aug 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington DC - 21 August 2025
1. Various of masked ICE and DHS agents walking to unmarked vehicles as law enforcement officers from various federal agencies prepare for patrols at the U.S. Park Police Rock Creek Station
2. Various of unmarked vehicles leave the U.S. Park Police Rock Creek Station
3. Various of traffic passing by an abandoned truck where ICE agents arrested two construction workers after a traffic stop
4. Various of federal law enforcement officers asking drivers for documentation at a traffic stop near Rock Creek Park
STORYLINE:
Masked federal agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the Department of Homeland Security were seen preparing for patrols in a popular park in Washington D.C.

The masked federal agents left the U.S. Park Police Rock Creek Station in unmarked cars where many of law enforcement officers from various federal agencies were prepare to head out for patrols around the nation's capital.

Federal authorities have used checkpoints around the nation's capital to screen vehicles, sometimes asking people for their immigration status after stopping them, as President Donald Trump's crackdown reaches the two-week mark in Washington.

The use of checkpoints, which can be legally controversial, is the latest indication that the White House's mass deportation agenda is central to its assertion of federal power in Washington. Federal agents and hundreds of National Guard troops have surged into Washington this month, putting some residents on edge and creating tense confrontations in the streets.

The city's immigrant population, in particular, is rattled.

On Thursday morning, as Martin Romero rode through Washington’s Rock Creek Park on his way to a construction job in Virginia, he saw police on the road up ahead. He figured it was a normal traffic stop, but it wasn’t.

Romero, 41, declined to be interviewed on camera but said that U.S. Park Police were telling pickup trucks with company logos to pull over, reminding them that commercial vehicles weren’t allowed on park roads. They checked for licenses and insurance information, and then U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents came over.

Romero said there were two agents on one side of his truck and three on the other. He started to get nervous as the agents asked where they were from and whether they were in the country illegally.

“We just came here to work,” Romero said afterwards. “We aren’t doing anything bad.”

Two people in his truck were detained and the agents didn't give a reason, he said. He also saw three other people taken from other vehicles.

“I feel really worried because they took two of our guys," he said. "They wouldn’t say where they’re taking them or if they’ll be able to come back.”

Romero said he called his boss, who told him to just head home. They wouldn’t be working today.

Since Aug. 7, when Trump began surging federal agents into the city, there have been 630 arrests, including 251 people who are in the country illegally, according to the White House. Trump has been ratcheting up the pressure since then, seizing control of the D.C. police department on Aug. 11 and deploying more National Guard troops, mostly from Republican-led states.

===========================================================

Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...