|
Join me for a Ward 1 Town Hall on Recent Federal Actions Impacting D.C. Monday night at 7 pm. Register here.
The week started with the president of the United States announcing he was sending in the National Guard and taking over the Metropolitan Police Department, continued with incursion by federal law enforcement into traffic safety, using routine traffic safety stops to conduct immigration enforcement, and ended with the Administration asserting it was in charge of MPD, not our own police chief – which was met with a legal challenge by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb.
A court hearing reversed the direction of the federal government’s executive order and upheld the District’s right to operate its own police force. By the end of the day on Friday, the Administration rewrote the order that had attempted to seize operational control of the Metropolitan Police Department and made clear that Chief Pamela Smith is still in charge of the Department, under the direction of Mayor Muriel Bowser. This is a win for Home Rule and for the residents of the District.
However, there are still unresolved legal issues – D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and his team will be back in court on Monday when we hope the court will clarify what federal law enforcement can and can’t do regarding the clearing of homeless encampments and immigration enforcement. And, critically, what they can demand of MPD and other District employees in that process.
We are a city that welcomes all and protects our residents. We have received reports of immigration enforcement agents consistently present in Ward 1 over the past week, targeting residents and workers, and like many of you, I am angry and deeply concerned for our immigrant neighbors. We are closely monitoring the situation and the tools at our disposal. We’ve compiled resources specific to immigrants’ rights, and I encourage you to share with your neighbors.
On Thursday, I visited a homeless encampment near the U.S. Institute of Peace, ahead of a planned National Park Service Police operation to clear the site and arrest unhoused people living there. D.C. government agencies and social service organizations were providing support and assistance to help people come in before these sweeps. Threatening to arrest folks if they don't go to a shelter is cruel and counterproductive. It obliterates trust built with people who’ve been deeply traumatized. Being unhoused is not a crime.
I’ve heard from many of you telling me to keep up our efforts to resist federal overreach. My colleagues and I appreciate the support we’ve received from across the city, and we share your concern and your outrage. We’re going to have to stick together – it is the only way we will get through this.
I’ve also heard from some of you who have shared that the federal actions concern you, but so, too, does the crime that happens here in our city. I hear you – and I want to be clear that we will not be satisfied with any amount of crime in the District, even as the data is clear that the numbers are down significantly and consistently. The numbers don’t matter when crime hits close to home and affects the people you love.
But federal intervention is not helping and won’t help. It undermines D.C. autonomy, interrupts the chain of command, brings in people who are not trained for community law enforcement, frightens residents, and sows chaos that has already resulted in unnecessary incidents.
(There are things the federal government could do to help – most notably, fill the 17 judge vacancies and the many prosecutor vacancies that result in much slower prosecution and make it harder to hold bad actors accountable.)
I have said before, and it has only become clearer. The people of the District of Columbia are strong and resilient, and we know how to come together when times are tough. In the past week we have seen so many people helping neighbors, coming together to protect one another. It’s amazing to see the compassion and unity in this beautiful city that we call home.
In collaboration with other Council offices, we have put together resources to help. A few of them are below.
Join me for a Ward 1 Town Hall on Recent Federal Actions Impacting D.C. Monday night at 7 pm. We’ll talk about impact on Home Rule, the court filing, and what you can do. We’ll be joined by Free DC to talk about their work and how you can help, and we will help everyone understand their rights, in order to advocate for yourself and your neighbors. Register here.
|
