President Donald Trump has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to Washington, D.C., ostensibly to combat violent crime, but reports and videos suggest that food delivery drivers are being disproportionately targeted. According to an NBC News report, one Uber Eats driver, identified only as Sidi, was detained by nine officers who questioned him about his vehicle registration and immigration status. When Sidi requested an Arabic translator, a Homeland Security Investigations agent told him none was available, leaving him unable to understand why he was being held.
The crackdown has led to a noticeable decline in delivery drivers on the streets. Clarissa Vasquez, a restaurant worker in Columbia Heights, told NBC News that food pickup orders have dropped to just 4% of normal levels. Some drivers have reportedly moved to nearby Virginia and Maryland to avoid federal agents.
Atenas Estrada, program director at Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, said the center has received reports of widespread fear among both documented and undocumented migrants. “People are making decisions to avoid places they would not otherwise avoid,” she told NBC News.
Trump launched the federal patrols after Edward Coristine, a staffer for Elon Musk’s DOGE, was attacked by teenagers. Despite Trump’s claims that D.C. is plagued by violent crime, Metropolitan Police Department statistics show a 30% decrease in violent crime compared to last year. The president has accused the MPD of reporting “fake crime numbers” and suggested an investigation is underway.
A Justice Department report released in January, just before Trump took office, noted that violent crime in D.C. had fallen by 35%, the lowest in 30 years.
