WashingtonHours after President Donald Trump’s administration intensified its participation in the city’s law enforcement by designating a federal official as the new emergency head of the department, the nation’s capital filed a lawsuit on Friday to stop his takeover of its police department.
The police chief in Washington stated that Trump’s action will upset the command system and endanger law and order. In a court filing, Chief Pamela Smith stated, “In my nearly thirty years of law enforcement, I have never witnessed a single government action that would pose a greater threat to law and order than this dangerous directive.”
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The legal dispute that took place on Friday demonstrated the rising tensions in a largely Democratic city where the Republican presidential administration now controls its police force. Trump’s takeover of the police department is historic, but it began the week with a gradual increase in the number of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers.
However, as the weekend drew near, signs from the streets to the courts indicated a growing crisis over control of the city’s immigration and policing policies, the district’s autonomy, and day-to-day life for the millions of residents and workers in the metro area.
The top lawyer in Washington was attempting to get the order that placed the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration in command of police in the nation’s capital overturned in court. Brian Schwalb, the attorney general for the District of Columbia, claims the police takeover is unlawful and might cause operational chaos.
The complaint follows U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement on Thursday that Terry Cole, the head of the DEA, will take over the responsibilities of the police chief and have the power to approve any instructions given to officers. Where Smith, the city’s current police chief and the mayor’s employee, stood after the change was unknown.
Trump has used obscure statutes and a fictitious state of emergency to support his tough-on-crime rhetoric and his plans to expedite the mass deportation of individuals in the United States illegally. The police takeover is the latest attempt to test the boundaries of his legal authority to implement his agenda.
Additionally, it is one of the most extensive displays of federal power over a municipal government in contemporary history. Although there have been noticeable increases in crime and homelessness in Washington, the capital is not experiencing the public safety breakdown that the Trump administration has depicted, and the city’s homicide rate is lower than that of numerous other large U.S. cities.
Although D.C. has chosen its own mayor and city council since the Home Rule Act was passed in 1973, the president still has more authority over the nation’s capital than other cities.
Since it was passed, Trump is the first president to have authority over the city’s police force. Although Trump has said he would want to extend it, the law restricts that authority to 30 days without congressional permission. According to Schwalb, the president’s legal authority is restricted to mandating that the mayor provide police services for federal objectives.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes interrogated a Justice Department lawyer during a hearing for the District’s request for a temporary restraining order on Friday afternoon, showing doubt that the law permits the type of extensive oversight the administration has claimed.
Reyes, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden, stated, “As I understand the statute, the president can ask, the mayor must provide, but the president can’t control.”
The decision to sideline Smith followed an immigration restriction that still prevented certain aid from reaching federal authorities, according to Yaakov Roth, a Trump administration lawyer, who testified in court. He said that the president has wide latitude in deciding what assistance Washington police must offer.
The chief had consented to provide immigration data.
Schwalb, who was chosen as the city’s top lawyer, claimed late Thursday that Bondi’s order was illegal and that the city’s police force couldn’t follow it. “Members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor,” he wrote in a memo to Smith.
Bondi’s order was issued hours after Smith had instructed MPD officers to provide immigration authorities with information about individuals who were not in custody, such as those involved in a checkpoint or traffic stop. According to the Justice Department, Bondi disapproved of the police chief’s order since it permitted the continuation of the enforcement of sanctuary laws, which often restrict local law enforcement’s ability to collaborate with federal immigration officials.
In addition to other MPD regulations that restrict immigration status inquiries and prohibit arrests made based only on federal immigration warrants, Bondi said she was rescinding that directive. According to Bondi, Cole must now approve all new directions.
In a social media post on Thursday, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed back, stating that no provision transfers the District’s personnel authority to a federal officer.
Immigrant groups in Washington, meantime, were attempting to counsel newcomers on how to react to the new regulations. The legal aspects of the laws are still being worked out, according to Anusce Sanai, associate legal director for the Washington-based immigrant charity Ayuda.
We are prioritizing the advice we give to clients and the general public. We would always advise our clients that they should contact the police, even in the most anti-immigrant administration,” Sanai stated. However, we now realize that we must use extreme caution while giving advice.
There is a noticeable display of force among the locals.
More notable displays of force have started to occur throughout the city, causing tension in a populace already nervous from the ramp-up days. Humvees positioned themselves in front of the crowded main train station, and National Guard soldiers guarded some of the most famous sites in the world. Homeless persons were assisted by volunteers in leaving established encampments to locations that were frequently obscure.
More than 1,750 people joined the operation Thursday night as 20 federal law enforcement teams spread out around the city, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity. According to the official, they arrested 33 people, 15 of whom were migrants without permanent legal status. On warrants for rape, murder, and drunk driving, other people were taken into custody.
Police from the Department of Homeland Security were stationed outside Nationals Park on Thursday for a Washington Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies game. Secret Service agents were spotted in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, while DEA agents monitored The Wharf, a well-known entertainment district.
According to Anthony Leak, a lifelong Washingtonian, “I always feel safe in every quadrant and every ward of this city.” He said he didn’t think the federal agents’ presence significantly altered the typically boisterous environment of sports fans and bustling bars during Thursday’s Nationals game.
While the District contested the Trump administration in court on Friday, about 100 demonstrators assembled for a rally less than a block away in front of police headquarters, shouting “Protect home rule! and waving signs saying Resist!”
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Contributions came from Will Weissert, Michael Kunzelman, Ashraf Khalil, and Alanna Durkin Richer of the Associated Press in Washington.
