Officers in Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department can now assist federal immigration authorities, Police Chief Pamela A. Smith wrote in an order Thursday, a turning point for the liberal-leaning city government that comes as President Donald Trump continues to flex federal control over the city.
The district’s officers will be empowered to share information with immigration agencies about people at traffic stops and to transport agency employees and their detainees, per the order.
Since 2020, police in the District have been bound by a sanctuary city law that has prohibited broad cooperation with federal immigration authorities. But Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed a repeal of the law, and White House Border Czar Tom Homan on Wednesday declared DC was “not going to be a sanctuary city.”
Bowser’s office pointed POLITICO to the MPD for comment. The police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Casting the capital city as “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals,” Trump on Monday declared a public safety emergency and announced plans to place the police force under federal control and send in the National Guard.
“This is liberation day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back,” he said at a press conference, even though violent crime in the district reached a 30-year low in 2024 and has continued to decline, according to city records.
On Wednesday, he hinted at continuing his federal takeover well beyond the 30-day limit allowed by the Home Rule Act — even absent congressional approval — by invoking a national emergency.
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