President Donald Trump may not be done with his federal takeover of Washington, D.C., even though the emergency order that brought an influx of federal law enforcement and National Guard members to the nation's capital expired last week. On Monday, Trump threatened to retake control of the D.C. police after Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser emphasized that local police won't enforce federal immigration policies.
Leading up to the emergency order expiration, Bowser ordered a post-emergency plan earlier this month to continue the work of the Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center, which was set up in response to Trump's emergency order. Under the plan, the center is indefinitely tasked with "manag[ing] the District's response, coordinat[ing] centralized communications, and ensur[ing] coordination with federal law enforcement to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District." The order went on to list federal agencies for which "coordination of…enhanced federal law enforcement efforts" will continue, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Secret Service. The list of agencies, however, did not include Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
During a press conference on Wednesday, Bowser clarified that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) would return to pre-emergency policies regarding cooperation with ICE. "Immigration enforcement is not what MPD does," Bowser said, "and with the end of the emergency, it won't be what MPD does."
