On Thursday, August 14, the United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, issued an order to revoke multiple directives from the Washington DC city government that restricted its police from collaborating with immigration enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The order appointed Terry Cole, the current head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as the interim police chief of Washington DC. This action was taken in reference to President Trump’s previous emergency declaration, which overturned several local policing policies in DC.
Additionally, the order annulled a guideline issued by DC Police Chief Pamela Smith on Thursday, which allowed limited cooperation between the police and the Trump administration.
According to Smith’s guideline, DC officers could share information about individuals not detained by the police and provide transportation for federal immigration officers and detained individuals. However, they were prohibited from solely querying any database for immigration status, and making immigration-related inquiries or arrests without criminal nexus or a criminal arrest warrant.
Bondi also instructed the suspension of DC Police Department’s previous regulations, which prevented officers from arresting individuals based on ICE-signed administrative immigration orders and assisting federal agents during arrests without a criminal nexus.
The order also halted a local policy that prohibited law enforcement from transferring non-citizens in detention to ICE based on so-called “detainer” requests from federal agencies, unless a criminal arrest warrant signed by a judge was present.
The above directives essentially overturned the “sanctuary” policy in the nation’s capital. Bondi told Fox News on Thursday, “Washington DC cannot continue to be a sanctuary city, actively harboring criminal foreigners.”
In response, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser posted a letter from DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb addressed to DC Police Chief Smith on Thursday evening.
The letter asserted that Bondi’s directive lacked federal legal authority and stated, “I believe Bondi’s order is unlawful, and you are not legally obligated to comply with it.” It further emphasized that the metropolitan police must continue to follow the orders issued by Smith, “rather than any orders from officials not appointed by the mayor.”
In the latest update, Schwalb filed a lawsuit in the Washington DC Federal Court on Friday challenging the Trump administration’s takeover of the DC Police Department, alleging that “the lawsuit aims to have the court rule that the Trump administration’s seizure of the DC Police Department is unlawful.”
On Monday, the Trump administration issued an executive order invoking a 30-day emergency power, deploying the National Guard, DEA, Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and FBI agents to patrol certain areas in Washington DC, combating crime and illegal immigration, clearing the streets of homeless individuals, and completely restoring law and order in the capital.
(Reference: This article referenced reporting by CBS NEWS)