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Residents — From East of the River to Uptown — Angered by MPD-Federal Agent Collusion

October 30, 2025

A Homeland Security Investigations agent shot at a vehicle during a traffic stop in Washington D.C.'s Ward 7, just days before the district's police commander told community members that ICE agents were not embedded with local officers. The incident has sparked accusations of deception and intensified concerns about federal law enforcement collaboration with Metropolitan Police Department officers throughout the city. Community activists and residents testified before the D.C. Council about multiple instances of federal agents working alongside local police to detain individuals, particularly affecting immigrant communities and people of color.

Who is affected

  • Phillip Brown (driver shot at by HSI agent, charged with fleeing police)
  • Ward 7 residents and community members
  • D.C. immigrant communities and families (including children living in fear)
  • Terra Martin (mother of Delaneo Martin, killed by U.S. Park Police in 2023)
  • Two moped drivers surrounded by MPD and ICE agents near D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School
  • Mary Calhoun (first grade teacher who witnessed federal enforcement action)
  • Gregory Afinogenov (Ward 4 resident who witnessed people pulled from buses)
  • Two people pulled off Metrobus by Transit Police
  • Students at D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School
  • People of color and those believed to be immigrants across D.C.

What action is being taken

  • The D.C. Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is bringing pressure to city council members, visiting Chairman Mendelson, interrupting town halls, and holding press conferences
  • HSI special agents are pursuing vehicles and conducting enforcement operations alongside MPD officers
  • Federal agents (FBI, HSI, MPD) are stopping and detaining individuals on streets and buses
  • MPD Sixth District officers are embedded with ATF and Border Patrol agents for crime suppression operations
  • Federal agencies are monitoring MPD radio correspondences and appearing at scenes
  • Councilmember Brianne Nadeau is conducting hearings and roundtables to explore possible D.C. Human Rights Act violations
  • Community organizers are filing into council meetings demanding immediate responses

Why it matters

  • This situation reveals serious transparency and accountability issues regarding federal law enforcement operating in the District of Columbia. The contradiction between official statements and actual operations erodes community trust and potentially violates D.C.'s Sanctuary Values Act, which aims to protect immigrant residents. The collaboration between local and federal agents creates confusion about accountability, as federal agents are not bound by MPD protocols. For a city without full legislative and budget autonomy, the increased federal presence represents a direct threat to Home Rule principles and puts vulnerable populations—particularly immigrants and communities of color—at greater risk of detention and deportation. The incident where an HSI agent nearly killed a D.C. resident during a routine traffic stop demonstrates the dangerous escalation that can occur when federal agents operate alongside local police without clear oversight or community awareness.

What's next

  • Nadeau plans further collaboration with council colleagues and input from the Judiciary Committee on how to approach the issue
  • Nadeau intends to examine more deeply the executive order on cooperation with ICE and vulnerabilities under the Sanctuary Values Act
  • The D.C. Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression plans to continue pressing the Bowser administration to stop cooperating with the Trump administration
  • Chioma Iwuoha has reached out to Commander Hickman about his remarks at the community meeting

Read full article from source: The Washington Informer