White House: Bondi has "officially ENDED" D.C. sanctuary policies
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and President Trump at the White House on Monday. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered an end to Washington, D.C., sanctuary policies, a spokesperson for her office said Thursday evening.
The latest: D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb told the city's police chief on Thursday night that Bondi's directive that also saw DEA head Terry Cole appointed "emergency police commissioner" and enabling him to have the powers of the police chief was "unlawful."
- When asked whether Schwalb's guidance in the letter to Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith applied to Bondi's sanctuary policies order as well, a spokesperson for the D.C. mayor's office said the attorney general's legal findings speak to those issues as well."
- Representatives for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Axios' Thursday night request for comment.
The big picture: The announcement comes amid a Trump administration crackdown of D.C. that's seen the president deploy hundreds of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement and Bondi take control of the city's police force.
Driving the news: The announcement was made in a wider directive Bondi issued that saw Drug Enforcement Administrator Terry Cole appointed "emergency police commissioner," enabling him to have the powers of the police chief.
- The action rescinds an Aug. 14 executive order signed by Smith that enabled officers to assist federal immigration authorities, but which Bondi spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said on X had "enforced sanctuary policies" and "prevented arrests solely for federal immigration warrants," among other restrictions.
- Bondi also rescinded an October 2023 general order for MPD that Gilmartin said prevented arrests solely for federal immigration warrants.
- The attorney general also directed the MPD to "FULLY ENFORCE" a section of the D.C. Code that "makes it unlawful to crowd or obstruct streets, public or private building entrances, passage through parks, and engage in or continue demonstrations where it is unlawful or after being told to cease engaging," according to Gilmartin.
What they're saying: Christina Henderson, an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia, said on X Thursday night: "Respectfully, the Attorney General does not have the authority to revoke laws."
- D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser shared Schwalb's letter on X that assesses that under the Home Rule Act that enabled President Trump's federal crackdown, the president is permitted to request police services from the mayor, but they're not empowered to unilaterally change district laws.
What we're watching: Immigration advocates worry that the lifting of the D.C. sanctuary policies could hurt efforts to fight crime in immigrant communities since now they may be reluctant to call police.
Context: Newly released FBI data analyzed by Axios showed that D.C. had a violent crime rate of 925.9 per 100,000 residents last year.
- That's more than double the national average of 359.1 per 100,000 in 2024.
- However, the U.S. Department of Justice said earlier this year that the total number of violent crimes in D.C. in 2024 fell to a 30-year low.
Between the lines: Allowing immigration authorities to work with D.C. police and the cancellation of millions of dollars of anti-crime programs could reverse recent downward trends in crime, advocates warn.
More from Axios:
- D.C. mayor seeks repeal of sanctuary city law
- D.C. police can alert ICE during traffic stops under new order
- Trump wants to use traffic stops to target undocumented immigrants
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
