Federal National Guard troops were deployed in Washington, D.C., with a stated goal of fighting crime and making streets safe. In neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights, immigrants report a pervasive sense of terror and racial targeting. Both naturalized citizens and undocumented residents describe deserted streets and businesses, fear of grocery shopping, commuting, and working. A Salvadoran undocumented restaurant owner said many employees are too frightened to work after witnessing arrests and mistreatment. Workers have arrived in tears or trembling, describing federal officers as "cats out to catch mice." Business operations and community life have been severely disrupted and traumatized.
When National Guard troops were deployed here earlier this month, President Donald Trump promised that they would fight crime and make the streets safe again. But in neighborhoods like Columbia Heights, the takeover has created a real sense of terror for immigrants, who say they feel like they are being racially targeted and living in a dystopian version of the city they love.
Margarita, a 38-year-old mother of four, is an undocumented immigrant who came to the United States from El Salvador. She opened a Latino restaurant earlier this year and said half of her employees are too terrified to come to work. One employee came in with tears streaming down his face after witnessing an arrest and "how they mistreated people in front of his face," she said in Spanish.
Another employee came in "trembling with fear" and said he felt like federal officers were like "cats out to catch mice," she said. "I can't in good faith tell people to come to work. If something happened to them, that would be on my conscience," Margarita said. Her business has been "extremely" affected, she added. "It feels like a different D.C.," she said. "It's horrible to see the way the people are traumatized because of what's happening."
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