Today's News: D.C. Police Increase Cooperation with Federal Immigration Authorities

Concurrently, the administration has initiated a crackdown on homeless encampments, promising shelters but threatening arrests for non-compliance.

Terrence Dorsey

Aug 14, 2025

Photo: Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

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Date: August 14, 2025
Topic: Federal Takeover of D.C. Law Enforcement and its Impact on Immigration and Homelessness
Summary: President Donald Trump’s administration has federalized the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and deployed additional federal law enforcement, asserting direct control over the city’s policing. This move has led to increased cooperation between D.C. police and federal immigration authorities, effectively challenging the city’s sanctuary policies and resulting in a surge of immigration-related arrests. Concurrently, the administration has initiated a crackdown on homeless encampments, promising shelters but threatening arrests for non-compliance. These actions, framed by the White House as efforts to combat crime and restore safety, have sparked fear and confusion among D.C. residents, particularly immigrant and homeless communities, while drawing criticism from local leaders and advocacy groups who highlight the city’s existing efforts and declining crime rates.

Sources

Key Points

President Trump has federalized the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), asserting direct control over local law enforcement.
D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith issued an order allowing MPD officers to share information about individuals not in custody (e.g., during traffic stops) with federal immigration authorities (ICE) and to provide transportation for federal officials and their detainees.
Federal officials, including border czar Tom Homan, have declared that D.C.’s status as a sanctuary city is effectively over due to the federal takeover.
There has been a significant increase in federal law enforcement presence in D.C., including agents from FBI, DEA, US Marshals Service, and ICE, working alongside MPD.
The Trump administration is also targeting homeless encampments, with stated goals of moving individuals into shelters or jailing those who refuse.
The White House frames these actions as necessary to combat crime and restore safety in the nation’s capital.

Unique Highlights

The New York Times details how Chief Smith’s order serves as a “limited carve-out” to D.C.’s broader ban on cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, specifically noting the Sanctuary Values Amendment Act of 2020 and its provisions. It also reports Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, stating on social media that 29 of 45 arrests during stepped-up patrols were “immigration-related.”
CNN focuses on the “chaos, fear and confusion” spreading among D.C.’s homeless population, quoting individuals like Heather Bernard and Isis Burnette who express reluctance or negative experiences with shelters. It highlights advocates' claims that forcing homeless people into shelters or jails would be “unlawful, counterproductive and costly.” The article mentions a specific sweep near the Lincoln Memorial and Kennedy Center where no federal law enforcement agents were on site, only local authorities.
NBC News explicitly states that Chief Smith’s order allows officers to notify ICE about undocumented immigrants encountered during traffic stops, even if they have not been detained or charged with a crime. It also quotes President Trump expressing approval, saying it’s a “great step” that “could happen all over the country.” The article notes a “targeted enforcement operation” by ICE officers in a Home Depot parking lot.
Fox News emphasizes D.C.’s crime rates as justification for the federal intervention, citing an executive order “Declaring a Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia” and a Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) report that placed D.C. fourth among 24 cities in homicide rates per 100,000 citizens in 2024. It includes a quote from Jenn Pellegrino of the America First Policy Institute supporting the move as “long overdue” and discussing public perception of safety. The article also explores how federal law enforcement might integrate into other cities with high crime rates using consent decrees.
The Washington Post reports that “more than two dozen immigrants have been detained in D.C. this week,” with 29 immigration-related arrests on Wednesday night marking an “unusually large one-day total” compared to historical ICE arrest data for D.C. It includes strong condemnations from local leaders and immigrant advocates, such as D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George and CASA spokeswoman Jossie Flor Sapunar, who warn against calling D.C. police due to potential ICE involvement. The article discusses Mayor Muriel Bowser’s strategy to “outlast” the White House’s interest and the inherent limitations of D.C.’s power to shield immigrants due to federal involvement in its judicial system.

Contrasting Details

D.C. Crime Rates:
- Fox News emphasizes that D.C. is “plagued by violent crime,” citing an executive order and an RIT report indicating high robbery and murder rates, and placing D.C. fourth in homicide rates among 24 major cities in 2024.
- Conversely, CNN, The Washington Post, and Fox News (later in its own article) report that D.C.’s violent crime rates, including homicides and robberies, have fallen significantly. CNN notes Mayor Bowser’s administration touted a 9% drop in the city’s homeless population and that violent crime fell from Covid-era peaks. Fox News itself quotes the Department of Justice stating that the homicide rate dropped 35% compared to 2023, marking the lowest violent crime rates in 30 years.

Editor’s Note: I see a number of potential issues with the manner in which the RIT Center for Public Safety Initiatives 2024 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities working paper has been cited in the Fox News article. Neither the crime statistics nor the populations are taken from consistent sources between 2023 and 2024. In addition, the selection of cities seems arbitrary and is not addressed in the report. This doesn’t have the hallmarks of a well-researched paper. I suggest reading the paper and drawing your own conclusions.

D.C.’s Sanctuary City Status:
- The New York Times and The Washington Post report that federal officials, such as Tom Homan, explicitly proclaimed the end of Washington’s status as a sanctuary city under federal control.
- NBC News states that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser “has insisted that her city is not a sanctuary city because law enforcement there has cooperated with ICE in the past,” despite having pro-immigration policies on the books. This presents a differing interpretation of D.C.’s prior status.

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