By Vanguard Staff
The ACLU of the District of Columbia is raising alarms over two controversial moves in the nation’s capital: a new order from the Metropolitan Police Department directing officers to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Donald Trump’s unprecedented takeover of the city’s police force. Both actions, the civil liberties organization argues, threaten community safety and democratic governance in Washington, D.C.
In response to the police chief’s new order on ICE, Monica Hopkins, executive director of the ACLU-D.C., said the policy represents a dangerous shift in the role of local law enforcement. “Immigration enforcement is not the role of local police—and when law enforcement aligns itself with ICE, it fosters fear among D.C. residents, regardless of citizenship status. Our police should serve the people of D.C., not ICE’s deportation machine.”
Hopkins pointed out that federal courts across the country have ruled against ICE and local law enforcement agencies for unconstitutional detentions based on ICE detainers. She warned that by choosing to participate in immigration enforcement, the Metropolitan Police Department risks “losing the trust they need to keep communities safe.” According to the ACLU, community policing depends on trust, which vanishes when residents fear that reporting a crime or seeking help could expose them to deportation, racial profiling, or imprisonment.
The organization also highlighted practical guidance for residents in encounters with police or ICE. It urged people to know their rights, including asking officers, “Am I free to leave?” and “Am I under arrest?” Hopkins emphasized that individuals are not required to consent to searches, except in limited circumstances, and that asserting one’s right not to consent is one of the best ways to protect constitutional rights. The ACLU reminded residents that, except for providing a name and address when required, they are not obligated to answer police questions. If arrested, people should invoke their right to remain silent and request a lawyer. Hopkins noted that individuals detained by ICE or Border Patrol have the right to hire an attorney, though the government is not required to provide one, and should request a list of free or low-cost legal services.
Beyond the new ICE policy, the ACLU-D.C. is also mounting a strong response to Trump’s direct takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department, which Attorney General Brian Schwalb formally challenged in a lawsuit. In a statement, Hopkins called the takeover “a brazen abuse of power that flies in the face of the powers granted by the D.C. Home Rule Act and the democratic principles it represents” (ACLU-DC). She explained that the law permits the president to use the “services” of D.C.’s police in emergencies for federal purposes, but it does not authorize the federal government to “take over all local law enforcement functions, handpick a federal chief, rewrite local policies, or strip the District’s residents of control over their own law enforcement.”
Hopkins applauded Schwalb for defending the District, describing Trump’s actions as less about security and more about political power. “The president’s actions are about consolidating power and creating fear in the nation’s capital,” she said. “The president’s own words — promising to let police ‘do whatever the hell they want’ — raise grave concerns about civil rights abuses, particularly for Black, Brown, and unhoused residents.”
The ACLU emphasized that constitutional protections remain in force despite the federal takeover. Hopkins said, “Let’s be clear: no matter what authority they claim, military troops, federal agencies, and local police cannot violate the Constitution or the D.C. Home Rule Act.” She pledged that the ACLU-D.C. would continue monitoring how the Metropolitan Police Department is used under Trump’s direction and would fight to protect the rights of the city’s residents.
The controversy has also renewed calls for D.C. statehood. Hopkins said the takeover highlights the precarious status of Washington, where more than 700,000 residents still lack full democratic rights despite outnumbering populations in states like Vermont and Wyoming. She told NBC’s Ali Velshi that the situation is “sort of comical” given the city’s long history of disenfranchisement. D.C. residents could not vote for president until 1961, could not elect their own mayor until 1973, and still lack voting representation in Congress.
Hopkins argued that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard, FBI, and ICE in the streets of Washington, coupled with the police takeover, underscores the urgency of granting the District full statehood. She described Trump’s actions as a “brazen abuse of power” and said, “At this point, it’s all politics” (NBC).
For the ACLU-D.C., the stakes are clear: cooperation with ICE undermines trust in law enforcement, and Trump’s takeover undermines democracy itself. Together, they say, these moves reveal the vulnerability of D.C. residents who remain without the protections and autonomy afforded to citizens of every other state.
