Washington, DC, a longtime sanctuary jurisdiction, will now cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in several ways just days after President Donald Trump took federal control of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to fight violent crime.
This week, Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to take control of MPD and activated the National Guard to tackle growing violent crime and a rising murder rate in the nation’s capital.
WATCH — Trump Invites Media on D.C. Police Ride-Alongs to See Crime Firsthand:
On Thursday, Border Czar Tom Homan suggested to Fox News that D.C. would no longer impose its sanctuary city policies under federal control — policies that have prevented MPD from turning over criminal illegal aliens to ICE agents.
“I think D.C. under federal control is not going to be a sanctuary city,” Homan said. “We’re working with the police hand in hand, and when we encounter a criminal, illegal alien, they will be turned over to ICE, and that’s the way it should be.”
Indeed, Police Chief Pamela Smith issued a memo on Thursday whereby MPD officers can share information with ICE on illegal aliens not in D.C. custody and provide transportation for ICE agents and detained illegal aliens.
Still, the memo makes clear that MPD officers are prohibited from holding criminal illegal aliens in D.C. jail so that ICE agents can take custody.
Last year, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) issued a report declaring D.C., under Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), to be one of the most egregious sanctuary cities in the nation.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
