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President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to federalize the Washington, D.C., police force again if the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) refuses to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The warning came just days after Trump’s 30-day emergency takeover of the city expired. In August, the president placed the district under federal control, deploying National Guard troops and temporarily assuming command of MPD. Trump hailed the move as making the city “one of the safest in the world,” boasting that Washington was now “booming” with businesses and experiencing “virtually NO CRIME.”
But the president said Monday that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, had informed federal officials that MPD would no longer assist with immigration enforcement operations.
“If I allowed this to happen, CRIME would come roaring back,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!!!”
Bowser Pushes Back on Immigration Enforcement
Mayor Bowser voiced opposition to the administration’s strategy during the August emergency, arguing that residents were “living in fear” of federal immigration raids. When the emergency expired last week, she said MPD would return to its regular mission.
“Immigration enforcement is not what MPD does, and with the end of the emergency, it won’t be what MPD does,” Bowser told reporters.
However, she acknowledged that federal police officers would remain in the city to support MPD’s public safety efforts. Her office and MPD declined immediate comment Monday.
Crime Fell Under Federal Takeover
Trump’s emergency takeover coincided with a dip in reported crime. According to MPD data, between Aug. 11 and Sept. 10, 2024, the city saw 1,979 reported crimes, down from 2,425 during the same period in 2023.
Bowser herself credited the federal surge with reducing crime but said the presence of immigration agents and National Guard troops was “not working” for residents.
Legal and Political Uncertainty
It remains unclear whether Trump can unilaterally declare another emergency takeover of D.C.. While the president can temporarily assume control in extraordinary circumstances, extending such authority beyond 30 days generally requires congressional approval. Congress did not act on Trump’s earlier declaration.
The GOP-led House Oversight Committee recently advanced crime bills aimed at codifying Trump’s March executive order to “restore safety and beauty” to the capital. On Thursday, the panel will hear testimony from Bowser, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, and Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who is suing the administration over the deployment of the National Guard.
National Expansion of Crime Crackdown
Washington is not the only city targeted by Trump’s crime-fighting initiatives. Last week, the president said he would send the National Guard to Memphis, Tennessee, and he has threatened similar deployments to Chicago, New Orleans, and Baltimore.
In June, Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles, a move Democrats challenged in court. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act, a 19th-century law that bans the use of soldiers for domestic law enforcement.
That ruling casts further doubt on Trump’s authority to expand his campaign of federal takeovers to cities resisting his immigration and crime policies.
