"It's totally blatant," Graham said. "In this age of terrorism, it's a national embarrassment, as well as a national threat. They're selling illegal documents two miles from the White House."
The operation in Adams Morgan yesterday included officers from the Secret Service, the Social Security Administration and the D.C. police.
Federal and local officers subdue a suspect who was chased along Champlain Street from Columbia Road NW in the District's Adams Morgan neighborhood.
(Robert A. Reeder -- The Washington Post)
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D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey has assured District residents repeatedly that his officers do not check immigration documents or enforce immigration laws. Several Adams Morgan residents who were at the scene of the arrests complained that D.C. police officers were involved.
"Chief Ramsey said his officers wouldn't be involved in immigration issues," said Teresa Lopez, 53, the owner of a pool hall.
Lucy Ruano, 54, a hotel worker, said: "We have a lot of crime in this neighborhood and on this street -- rapes, robberies and assaults. How come they don't do anything about that and then focus on this?"
Ramsey said it was appropriate for his officers to back up federal agents on raids aimed at the trafficking of illegal immigration documents. He drew a distinction between randomly checking people on the street for fraudulent documents, which he said the department does not do, and investigating trafficking.
Staff writers Mary Beth Sheridan and Del Quentin Wilber contributed to this report.
