Trump says he will call national emergency again in Washington, DC, if police fail to cooperate with ICE
President Donald Trump says he will call a national emergency once again in Washington, DC, if local police do not cooperate with immigration enforcement.
The president said in a Truth Social post overnight that the move had reduced crime in the district but that if local police do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, crime would rise again.
His comments come after the national emergency and federal takeover he declared in August expired last week. Trump has said the move, which included sending in National Guard troops, is necessary to fight crime and has threatened to target other mostly Democratic-run cities. But critics have called it a “dangerous power grab.”
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser, had issued an order on September 2 requiring the city to cooperate with federal law enforcement indefinitely, clarifying however, that DC did not need a “federal emergency.”
But her order did not mention Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with Bowser saying last week she did not expect the local Metropolitan Police Department to participate in immigration enforcement. Instead, she said she expected the department to return to its “status quo.”
“Immigration enforcement is not what MPD does, and with the end of the emergency, it won’t be what MPD does in the future,” she added.
“Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has presided over this violent criminal takeover of our Capital for years, has informed the Federal Government that the Metropolitan Police Department will no longer cooperate with ICE in removing and relocating dangerous illegal aliens,” Trump wrote.
“If I allowed this to happen, CRIME would come roaring back. To the people and businesses of Washington, D.C., DON’T WORRY, I AM WITH YOU, AND WON’T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN. I’ll call a National Emergency, and Federalize, if necessary!!!”
While crime has decreased in Washington, DC, under the federal emergency, it’s not true that there’s “no crime,” as Trump has often repeated.
Trump’s latest post marks a change in tone from his previous comments made about Bowser, who he has praised in recent weeks for her cooperation with federal authorities.