The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement completed one of its biggest operations on record, with over 1,300 illegal aliens being detained in only two weeks
“BREAKING/EXCLUSIVE: DHS tells @FoxNews that ICE has quietly carried out one of its most successful operations in agency history, resulting in the arrests of 1,328 illegal aliens in just a 14-day span in the states of Virginia & Maryland,” Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin wrote in a post on the social media platform X.
“Nearly 400 of the aliens had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, including a Salvadoran illegal alien wanted by police in Richmond, VA on a murder warrant,” he continued.
“Other targets included aliens with rap sheets for attempted murder and rape, as well as convictions for sexual battery, kidnapping, robbery, and DWI. The operation primarily targeted the sanctuary jurisdiction suburbs in VA & MD around Washington DC, and ICE arrested anyone in the U.S. illegally, regardless of any criminal history.”
Melugin also posted footage of multiple suspects being arrested while they tried to evade law enforcement.
“I’m told many of the illegal aliens tried to flee from ICE or resisted arrest,” he wrote. “Some videos of these arrests are below, courtesy of an ICE source who took part in this massive operation in VA & MD.”
I’m told many of the illegal aliens tried to flee from ICE or resisted arrest. Some videos of these arrests are below, courtesy of an ICE source who took part in this massive operation in VA & MD. pic.twitter.com/kYALncQxeS
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 24, 2026
More arrests from this operation courtesy of ICE source who took part in it. pic.twitter.com/n9NbiQn58i
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 24, 2026
“Operation Safe Community — Washington, D.C.,” took place from Aug. 1-14, according to Fox News.
DHS Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News in a statement that “the brave men and women of ICE are hard at work every single day getting these dangerous illegal aliens out of our country.”
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“Over the course of just two weeks in Virginia and Maryland, they arrested sexual assailants, kidnappers, drunk drivers, robbers, and gang members,” he declared.
Mullin added that “while sanctuary politicians in Virginia and Maryland keep putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people, the Trump Administration will always put American citizens first.”
This news comes as the Trump administration is preparing to revoke business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for, or are currently seeking, asylum in America, The Associated Press reported.
If the policy stands up to legal challenges, it would mark the largest single mass revocation of visas in U.S. history.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said, “We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently.”
In an X post Monday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote that the time has come for stricter action on illegal immigration — and abuse of the asylum process that’s used to protect it.
“People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” he wrote. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws; rather, it’s supposed to provide a narrow safe harbor for persons persecuted because of their ‘race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.’”
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