Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday evening issued an additional order that directs the District of Columbia’s police force to completely cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Under Bondi’s latest directive, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is required to “fully and completely” cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal immigration authorities, countering the city’s long-standing sanctuary policies. The attorney general’s Friday memo comes as Washington, D.C. Democrats have fiercely resisted the Trump administration’s takeover of the city, including an earlier anti-sanctuary order by the attorney general.
“Today’s order is even STRONGER than yesterday’s order because instead of requiring DC to rescind just one MDP order, [Bondi] has now REQUIRED full cooperation with federal immigration authorities,” Department of Justice spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said in a public statement.
“We are NOT backing down,” Gilmartin continued. “As required by law, DC’s Police Chief ‘shall provide’ services [President Donald Trump] may deem ‘necessary & appropriate.”
Bondi issued an order on Thursday that placed Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator Terry Cole in charge of the MPD and rescinded several MPD orders that restricted ICE cooperation, an integral move in the Trump administration’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C. However, city leadership hit back later that evening, with Democratic D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb submitting a letter that called on MPD Chief of Police Pamela Smith to ignore the order.
“It is my opinion that the Bondi order is unlawful, and that you are not legally obligated to follow it,” Schwalb’s letter to Smith stated.
“Having been duly appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council, you are the lawfully appointed Chief of Police of the District of Columbia,” Schwalb went on. “Therefore, members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor.”
Bondi’s updated order on Friday does not place Cole as head of the MPD, but it more broadly demands local police participate in immigration enforcement.
In just the past several days, the Trump administration has deployed hundreds of National Guard members and other federal law enforcement officials to D.C. in an effort to mitigate the country’s crime rate. The federal takeover has already yielded success, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. In a joint operation conducted on Wednesday, MPD and federal law enforcement officers made 45 arrests, which included 29 illegal migrants.
However, both Mayor Muriel Bowser and Schwalb have adamantly resisted these efforts. On Friday, Schwalb filed a lawsuit over the federal takeover of the MPD, accusing the Trump administration of acting unlawfully and threatening D.C.’s “home rule” status.
In her announcement Friday night about the new anti-sanctuary order, Bondi took a swipe at Schwalb.
“Unfortunately, the DC Attorney General continues to oppose our efforts to improve public safety in Washington, DC,” Bondi said in a public statement. “It is important to note that this same DC Attorney General is responsible for failing to enforce consequences for dangerous juvenile offenders.”
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