Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and other officials in Washington, D.C., say the Trump administration's crime crackdown is really about exerting power and elevating immigration enforcement — not making D.C. safer.

While top Trump officials say the high-profile deployments have had the immediate effect of stifling crime in the District, local critics are raising questions about both the geographic placement of National Guard troops and federal officers — who have been most prominent in tourist hot spots and other wealthier parts of the city — and the focus of the criminal crackdown.

Of the 556 arrests tallied by the White House since it began increasing federal law enforcement presence on Aug. 7, nearly half of the arrests, 233, have been classified by the administration as migrants without legal status, a White House official said Tuesday.

“I think it makes the point that this is not about D.C. crime,” Bowser said earlier in the week, adding that the administration should be transparent about its intent.

“Nobody is against focusing on driving down any level of violence,” Bowser said. "And so if this is really about immigration enforcement, the administration should make that plain.”

The list of those arrested includes immigrants with alleged criminal histories of assault, kidnapping, burglary and larceny, the White House official said. But it also includes delivery drivers arrested as they tried to pick up food from commercial venues, sparking a backlash from human rights advocates and some D.C. residents.

Fueling the criticisms, the highest profile arrest to date was that of a Justice Department employee accused of throwing a sandwich at an agent of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in a section of the city best known for its vibrant nightlife.

Other high-profile or viral encounters have largely centered on immigration.

Video captured at least five masked agents who refused to answer questions about what agency they were with as they used a stun gun on a delivery driver before placing the man in an unmarked vehicle. When an onlooker said the officers were ruining the country, one federal agent responded “liberals already ruined it.”

In another case, a man captured video of his delivery driver as he was detained just minutes away, arrested by officers after the Arabic speaker was apparently unable to answer questions posed by officers.

The apparent focus on........

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