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Angry residents of<\/span> a Washington high-rise apartment building gathered as federal agents, backed by Metropolitan Police Department officers, swooped in to encircle a delivery driver last week.<\/p>\n The armed agents with tactical vests arrived first. They were joined by District police officers and a truck brimming with the sorts of mopeds and scooters used by delivery drivers. Soon, the driver\u2019s moped \u2014 representing another livelihood of a person at the bottom of Silicon Valley\u2019s pecking order \u2014 was added to the pile.<\/p>\n Residents pleading for the driver\u2019s release were ignored. As the police van drove away, one resident shouted at the driver, \u201cFuck you!\u201d The officer lowered his window and spat in the resident\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n Scenes like this have become common in a city under siege by President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and a federalized police force. The delivery drivers are only the latest targets of Trump\u2019s attempt to turn the city into a test run <\/a>for deploying troops and federal agents <\/a>to cities that oppose his administration.<\/p>\n The delivery drivers\u2019 whizzing motorcycles, mopeds, and electric bicycles filled city streets just a few weeks before, but now advocates say they\u2019ve become a top ICE target.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hard numbers about the crackdown are hard to come by. In a statement, the police department linked the arrests of delivery drivers to an operation that dates back to last year \u2014 without acknowledging ICE\u2019s new role. The targeting of delivery drivers appears to be widespread, however, and has led to a dramatic decline in the number of visible delivery drivers on the streets.<\/p>\n In stark contrast to Trump\u2019s first term, when the major ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft both came out against the government\u2019s Muslim ban, the big players in the food-delivery space have been quiet about the administration\u2019s attack on their workforce.<\/p>\n Advocates for immigrants and low-wage workers said the companies owe it to their drivers to speak out.<\/p>\n \u201cI would hope that every employer in the District is not only finding ways to protect their staff, but they are also speaking out and speaking to their elected folks about how unhappy they are,\u201d said Michael Lukens, executive director of Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which represents people facing deportation in the D.C. area. \u201cProfit cannot be paramount over people.\u201d<\/p>\n Lukens\u2019s nonprofit has already seen an increase in newly arrested clients, including those who worked as delivery drivers before the federal takeover of D.C.\u2019s police force began August 11.<\/p>\n Videos bear that out. Across D.C., residents have posted videos of police swooping in to arrest delivery drivers. In one scene captured by bystanders on video, a delivery driver emerging from a coffee shop was tackled to the ground and pummeled by masked ICE agents.<\/a><\/p>\n ICE did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Metro police attempted to tie the recent videos of violent arrests involving ICE to a monthslong operation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn response to community complaints about unsafe scooter driving behavior, the Metropolitan Police Department began conducting scooter enforcement in 2024,\u201d the department said. \u201cSince Operation Ride Right started, we have impounded approximately 1,249 scooters, made 139 arrests, and issued 1,258 Notice of Infractions.\u201d<\/p>\n The operation predated the Trump administration and what the statement left out was ICE\u2019s new, heavy-handed role. The agency has specifically been partnering with the city\u2019s police officers to check drivers\u2019 immigration status, the Washington Post reported last week.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\nA \u201cLazy\u201d Tactic<\/strong><\/h2>\n