President Donald Trump has warned that he will federalize the police force in Washington, D.C., if the department fails to cooperate with Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE).
Trump’s earlier assumption of control over the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) concluded last week, 30 days after its initiation. The President, who has consistently presented his crackdown on crime in D.C. as a triumph, had not previously indicated any intention to prolong federal authority over the MPD. However, on Monday, he asserted that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had “informed the federal government that the Metropolitan Police Department will no longer cooperate with ICE in removing and relocating illegal aliens,” and cautioned that “crime would surge dramatically” if he did not intervene.
“To the people and businesses of Washington, D.C., DO NOT WORRY, I AM WITH YOU, AND WON’T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN,” Trump stated. “I’ll call a National Emergency, and Federalize, if necessary!!!”
TIME reached out to the Mayor’s office for comment. The Metropolitan Police Department chose not to comment.
Trump asserted authority over crime in the nation’s capital in August and invoked a section of the [unspecified law] that allowed him to take control of the MPD for a maximum of 30 days, unless Congress opted to extend it.
Bowser issued an [unspecified directive] ahead of the takeover’s September 10 expiration date, instructing city officials to continue coordinating with federal law enforcement beyond the month-long period. Nevertheless, the order did not mention ICE, and last week, the Mayor told reporters that the MPD would not be assisting with immigration enforcement. She declared, “Immigration enforcement is not what the MPD does. And with the end of the emergency, it won’t be what MPD does in the future.”
Federal immigration agents have apprehended more than 940 immigrants in D.C., accounting for over 40 percent of the arrests made during Trump’s enforcement efforts in the city, according to [an unspecified source].
Regarding the crime rate in Washington, D.C. [unspecified details]: The Department of Justice announced early this year that violent crime in the city was at a 30-year low. City data indicate that [unspecified changes occurred] during the federal takeover, though [some analyses] have [indicated] Trump’s strategy is unlikely to provide a lasting solution for crime in D.C.
While federal authority over the MPD expired last week, National Guard troops that Trump also dispatched to D.C. are scheduled to remain in the capital at least through the end of November. The city [filed a lawsuit against] the Trump Administration earlier this month over its deployment of the National Guard, claiming it is both “unwanted” and violates laws prohibiting military involvement with local law enforcement.
Trump’s previous deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles this summer in response to protests over immigration raids in the city was [overturned] by a federal judge. The President has threatened to send the National Guard to other major Democratic-led cities, including Chicago and Baltimore, and last week said troops would be [utilized] to combat crime. ICE, meanwhile, has recently [increased enforcement efforts] in Massachusetts and Chicago amid the Trump Administration’s conflict with sanctuary cities.
