Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) issued an executive order allowing cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including ICE.
Chief of Police Pamela Smith said officers may “assist federal immigration enforcement agencies” with “sharing information about persons not in MPD custody” and “providing transportation for federal immigration agency employees and detained subjects.”
Smith’s order noted that officers may not arrest individuals “based solely on federal immigration warrants or detainers as long as there is no additional criminal warrant or underlying offense for which the individual is subject to arrest.”
The executive order comes as President Donald Trump announced “Liberation Day” for Washington, D.C., this week.
“This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back,” Trump stated. “Under the authorities vested in me as the President of the United States, I’m officially invoking Section 740 … and placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control.” He said experienced law enforcement leaders would oversee the transition, adding, “They’ve done it before.”
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore,” Trump said, adding, “You don’t want to get mugged and raped and shot and killed … You want to be able to leave your apartment or your house and feel safe.”
In an order demanding the restoration of law and order in D.C., Trump declared, “It is my duty to our citizens and Federal workers to secure the safety and the peaceful functioning of our Nation, the Federal Government, and our city.”
