President Donald Trump promoted his monthlong federal law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C., as a decisive crackdown on violent crime. The initiative, launched under emergency powers, was framed as an urgent effort to remove dangerous offenders and restore order in the nation’s capital. But new analysis suggests that its reach extended far beyond violent offenders.

According to data reviewed by the Associated Press, more than 40 percent of arrests made during the surge were for immigration-related violations. While the White House touted the operation as a resounding success—citing more than 2,300 total arrests, dozens of homicide suspects, and hundreds of gun and drug cases—critics argue that the effort was less about curbing violence and more about furthering Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.

The numbers tell a complicated story. Among the 2,300 arrests, officials seized more than 220 illegal firearms, including one from a teenager who had posted a concerning message about a school on social media. They also highlighted the capture of alleged gang members and suspects tied to violent crimes. Yet more than 940 arrests involved immigration issues, a figure that overshadowed other categories and drew sharp criticism from immigrant rights advocates.

Austin Rose, a managing attorney with the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, accused the administration of using violent crime as a pretext for immigration crackdowns. “The federal takeover has been a cover to do federal immigration enforcement,” Rose said. “It became pretty clear early on that this was a major campaign of immigration enforcement.”