Report also recommends Council legislation to strengthen existing laws prohibiting collaboration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWASHINGTON, D.C.—A new D.C. Council committee report calls on the Mayor and interim police chief to rescind two orders that allow D.C. police to cooperate with federal law enforcement on immigration. It also recommends that the Council develop legislation to strengthen the laws intended to prohibit that collaboration.
The report from the Committee on Public Works & Operations, chaired by Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau, details the findings of a highly emotional oversight roundtable the committee held in October on possible human rights violations emanating from D.C. government cooperation with federal law enforcement. The committee will consider the report for adoption at an upcoming meeting.
“The most significant finding in this process is the tremendous loss of trust between residents and MPD,” Nadeau said. “It wasn’t inevitable. It could have been prevented. I hope that with this report we can set the department in motion to repair that breach – and to make sure this can’t happen again.”
The Mayor and the Council should take several actions, according to the report, including:
- The Mayor should rescind her “Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center” order, which authorized indefinite local coordination with federal immigration authorities.
- The interim D.C. police chief should immediately sunset the previous chief’s order on immigration enforcement, which authorizes MPD officers to share information about people not in their custody, such as during traffic stops, and to provide transportation for federal immigration officers and detained people.
- The Council should exhaust all means to require that federal law enforcement officers are subject to the same restrictions imposed on MPD officers not to wear masks or face coverings and to provide identification.
- The Council should strengthen protections in the District’s Sanctuary Values Act and close any gaps that have allowed the Mayor and executive agencies to cooperate in federal immigration enforcement. This includes acting swiftly on legislation recently introduced by Councilmember Janeese Lewis George – B26-0549, the “Safe Community Places and Policing Amendment Act of 2025” – which would prohibit D.C. agencies from providing transportation for federal law enforcement or their detainees, and from participating in immigration enforcement.
The Committee will continue to investigate the incidents cited during the October hearing and is seeking information from, and related to, agencies named in witness statements and news reports.
The October hearing drew more than 50 people to testify in person and many others who submitted written testimony. According to the report, “The testimonies painted a picture of federal law enforcement agents acting with impunity, arresting individuals perceived as immigrant or Latino, terrorizing communities, and violating federal law (according to a recent federal ruling) and local law. The Committee also heard numerous accounts of masked and unidentifiable armed agents with no visible badges questioning, arresting, and “disappearing” residents into unmarked cars.”
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