On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondy announced the cancellation of several enforcement orders from DC police, which had previously limited officers from arresting undocumented immigrants.
“D.C. will not stay a sanctuary city. It won’t protect criminal aliens,” Bondy asserted during an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
Her remarks coincided with the issuance of a new directive, known as The Boyd Command, from the DC Metropolitan Police Department, led by Prime Minister Pameras Miss.
This recent order instructed DC police to cooperate exclusively with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in efforts to bolster President Trump’s aggressive approach to urban crime. This involves sharing details about individuals arrested by ICE during routine traffic stops.
Moreover, the directive prohibits DC officers from using law enforcement databases solely to check an individual’s immigration status, and restricts arrests to those based on federal immigration warrants or detainees.
Additionally, DC police were barred from notifying ICE about the release of detained undocumented immigrants, sharing their images, or allowing ICE to question them at the request of federal authorities.
“They’re attempting to shelter criminal foreigners,” Bondy commented regarding DC officials, warning that if the city becomes a haven for undocumented immigrants, “criminals will flee to DC.”
“We’re not going to allow that,” she pledged.
Bondy’s directive also appointed Terry Cole, the administrator of drug enforcement agencies, to the position of emergency police chief in the District, a move ordered by the President.
Cole will now oversee the DC Police Chief’s previously held powers and can issue orders to officers while the 3,400-member police force operates under federal supervision.
Current MPD leadership, including Chief Smith, must now receive approval from Cole to make further directives to officers.
“They report directly to me,” Bondy explained, referring to Cole, who oversees federal involvement in DC, along with former US chief Gadias Seralta. “And I will report to the President of the United States.”
“So, yes, you must comply. You’ll need to provide information to our ICE, our Homeland Security Officer,” she stressed regarding the DC police. “If they have details on undocumented individuals in D.C., they must relay that to us.”
In response, Democrat DC Mayor Muriel Bowser released a legal opinion late Thursday, with District Attorney General Brian Schwarb arguing that Bondy’s order is “illegal.”
“I believe the Bondi Order is unlawful, and you are not legally obligated to adhere to it,” Schwarb stated in a memo directed to Chief Smith, referencing the Home Rules Act of 1973.
The Act, according to Schwarb, “precludes the President or his delegates from dismissing or replacing the police chief, altering the chain of command within the MPD, or soliciting services from anyone other than the MPD or the mayor.”
“[M]embers of the MPD must follow your directives, not orders from individuals not appointed by the mayor,” Schwarb added.
On August 7, the Trump administration directed federal law enforcement to address issues of crime and disorder in DC, leading to the arrest of over 150 individuals on various charges, including murder, drug offenses, and weapon violations.
In this operation, another 60 individuals suspected of being illegally in the U.S. were also apprehended, along with the seizure of 27 firearms.
