Delivery Driver Arrests Raise Fears in Local Community
One morning, a resident of the nation's capital was left perplexed and concerned when his breakfast delivery took longer than expected. He had ordered burritos through a popular food delivery app. After noticing that the driver's GPS location had halted before reaching his address, he decided to go outside to investigate.
Stepping onto the street, he saw flashing police lights in the direction where his delivery driver seemed to be. To his surprise, he found the driver surrounded by nearly nine law enforcement officers, all dressed in various uniforms. The majority of them wore face masks.
When the resident approached the scene, he found the delivery driver, known as "Sidi" on the app, being interrogated. The questioning started with the driver's vehicle registration and quickly moved on to his immigration status.
Detainment of Sidi
An officer wearing a mask was heard telling Sidi that he would be coming with them that day. Sidi, clearly nervous, requested for the officer to communicate with him in Arabic, as he did not understand what was being said. However, the officers did not have an Arabic translator with them. The officers then handcuffed Sidi and placed him in an unmarked car. The resident documented the event and reported it to the food delivery company.
The driver's full identity, nationality or current whereabouts is not verified, and the food delivery company did not respond immediately when asked for a comment.
Arrests of Delivery Drivers Stirring Fear
This incident is among several others where delivery drivers have been arrested in the capital. These incidents, recorded by eyewitnesses, have been widely shared on social media and among local delivery driver chat groups. The arrests are causing a significant chilling effect on the drivers, with some choosing to stop making deliveries in the city altogether.
One driver, who preferred to remain anonymous, mentioned in a voice message that he has not worked for five days because of the situation. He is waiting for things to calm down as he doesn't know what to do.
Noticing the unusual absence of delivery drivers, the resident mentioned that a nearby area, usually bustling with 15-20 drivers waiting for their next orders, has been eerily vacant.
Impact on the Community
Others in the community have also noted the dwindling presence of delivery drivers. A restaurant worker shared that the number of people picking up orders has significantly diminished.
Recently, she witnessed and recorded the arrest of a regular delivery driver near her restaurant. The driver was visibly nervous and shocked as the police took him away. His bike was loaded onto a truck, and he was later located in custody in Virginia through an online detainee locator.
A friend of the arrested driver, who had been living in the area for over a decade, said he never believed such a thing could happen to him. Despite warnings from friends and family, he felt safe working as a delivery driver.
Authorities have not commented on these incidents or whether there is a coordinated effort to check the immigration statuses of delivery drivers. However, these events have triggered widespread fear among both documented and undocumented immigrant communities.
One community member noted that people are making decisions or avoiding places that they wouldn't have otherwise, due to the fear.
The resident who witnessed Sidi's arrest has since created a series of video clips about the incident and decided to temporarily stop using delivery apps out of concern for the drivers.