Rideshare and Delivery Companies Are Staying Quiet as Drivers Are Detained in D.C.

Every day since President Donald Trump federalized law enforcement in Washington, D.C., social media has been flooded with videos and images of federal officers detaining delivery drivers — at times violently.

The crackdown prompted at least one city council member, Janeese Lewis George, to urge residents against ordering food delivery.

The companies that employ these drivers as contractors, however, are staying silent. DoorDash, Uber and Lyft haven’t issued statements about how Trump’s crackdown in the District has affected their contractors.

And delivery and rideshare drivers also haven’t received guidance from the companies.

A spokesperson for DoorDash told NOTUS that as of Friday, the company had not sent anything to drivers about the situation in D.C. or what to do if they are detained.

“We have not seen any significant impact to our operations in D.C.,” said the spokesperson, who added that DoorDash was “monitoring the situation closely” but declined to comment on internal discussions.

Uber and Lyft did not respond to requests for comment on how they are protecting or notifying workers in D.C.

A personal injury lawyer who represents rideshare drivers in crashes told NOTUS that these companies are likely not legally obligated to contact their drivers about what to do if they get detained, even if it might be appreciated professionally.

Lewis George’s office said it reached out to DoorDash in May and again this week about what the company was doing to protect drivers. DoorDash did not get back to Lewis George’s office until Thursday, after NOTUS reached out for comment.

“Since the federal occupation of D.C., we’ve seen a disturbing pattern of delivery drivers, many of whom are immigrants, being targeted for arrest without probable cause by unidentified federal agents,” Kelly Hunt, Lewis George’s chief of staff, said in a statement to NOTUS.

“We’ve also received reports of multiple drivers with legal status being taken into custody, and released only after their documentation has been confirmed. This raises serious constitutional concerns, and it has created widespread fear among our neighborhoods and especially communities of color,” Hunt added.

A spokesperson for council member Brianne Nadeau said her office has noticed a similar trend. Nadeau represents Ward 1, which includes the neighborhoods Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights.

“Councilmember Nadeau has been seeing the same pattern and hearing the same concerns,” the spokesperson told NOTUS via email. “She has also reached out to the Department of For-Hire Vehicles, of which she has oversight, as chair of the Committee on Public Works and Operations, to see if they are giving guidance to rideshare and carrier-for-hire (food delivery) companies and drivers, and to recommend that they do.”

Federal officials have reportedly arrested more than 1,000 people since Trump declared a “crime emergency” on Aug. 11, taking over the Metropolitan Police Department and deploying the National Guard. More than 300 people without legal immigration status have been detained, according to officials. Even immigrants who are here legally have reportedly been detained.

Lewis George and local ANC 4B Chair Sophia Tekola watched one detention on Tuesday in Ward 4, which includes Petworth, Takoma and Fort Totten. Tekola saw flashing lights while she was out walking her dog and spotted an Uber driver being detained by officers.

“My first thought was someone’s getting taken and so I quickly go over,” said Tekola, who said she saw Metropolitan Police Department officers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and “individuals who do not have an agency titled on them, it just says police and green bulletproof vests and masks on.” She posted videos of the incident to X.

Afterward, Lewis George, who was also on the scene, posted on Instagram encouraging people not to order delivery, alleging officers are “targeting” delivery drivers.

Tekola told NOTUS she had heard from members of the community who reached out via email, phone or in person of at least 10 people in her neighborhood taken in on Tuesday alone.

“For immigrants who have followed the law, it is their belief that America has due process, and as long as they’re following the law, as long as our paperwork is in order, they will be safe. And currently … they are not safe,” Tekola told NOTUS.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment. The Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DoorDash, Uber and Lyft have lobbying footprints in Washington and have been active in politics for decades.

According to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks the flow of money in politics, DoorDash has spent nearly $1.2 million on federal lobbying in the first six months of 2025 alone, Uber has spent $1.4 million and Lyft has spent $480,000. The companies disclosed lobbying on a range of issues impacting workers, including lobbying on a provision eliminating tax on tips that was included in the tax bill that Trump in July signed into law.

When asked if DoorDash was working with policymakers regarding the situation in D.C., the DoorDash spokesperson declined to comment on discussions.

In the absence of safety guidance from companies, Tekola told NOTUS she is telling non-whitemembers of her community to write important phone numbers on their arm.

“Even if you do have a bunch of numbers memorized when you have been searched, when you have been detained, you don’t know what type of emotions are going to feel, especially if you’ve never been in trouble with the law,” Tekola said.