Legal advocates raise red flags as DC police team up with ICE

WASHINGTON (CN) — Local officers will ramp up coordination with federal agents in the nation’s capital despite growing dissent from Washingtonians, the city’s police chief announced on Thursday, drawing concern from legal advocates about President Donald Trump’s use of federal forces against civilians.

“Every American should be concerned,” Norm Eisen, an ethics expert and executive director at  Democracy Defenders Fund, said. “We know when people say they’re going to be a dictator on day one, they never voluntarily give up that aspiration on day two — that is what you are seeing in the streets of the District of Columbia now. It is grossly illegal and wrong.”

Eisen’s comments came after federal officials joined a police checkpoint along 14th Street Northwest in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. Law enforcement officers stopped just over two dozen cars during the routine safety stop, but the presence of federal agents drew dissent from residents, who booed officers and chanted, “Go home, fascists,” and “Get off our streets.”

MPD was joined by officers from a variety of agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. D.C. police handed out 38 violations for minor infractions and arrested an individual for lacking a permit and having counterfeit tags.

Unconfirmed reports emerged of ICE arrests as well. Several protesters warned approaching vehicles of the checkpoint, urging drivers to detour away from officers.

MPD does not provide information on arrests from other agencies. ICE did not respond to requests for comment.

Legal advocates said they will take action if federal officials overstepped their authority during Wednesday night’s stop.

“There does appear to be evidence that non-MPD federal authorities may have exceeded the lawful bounds at some of those traffic stops,” Eisen said. “[The Democracy Defenders Fund] and other nonpartisan, nonprofit litigating outfits are scrutinizing that video from last night, and there will be accountability if the law is violated by individuals or by Donald Trump.”

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said officers would help with immigration enforcement moving forward, sharing information about individuals who are not in their custody and transporting federal agents and detained immigrants.

The space for cooperation between city and federal officials appeared narrow. MPD officers cannot search for individuals without legal status or target immigrants for civil immigration offenses. They are also barred from arresting immigrants with federal immigration warrants.

Trump on Monday said he would invoke a 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act provision, which gives the president limited power to federalize the capital’s police force, citing “special conditions of an emergency nature.” He also mobilized 800 National Guard members and hundreds of federal agents for what he called a “massive enforcement operation” tackling crime and relocating the homeless.

Federal law sets clear limits on the White House’s power to federalize D.C. police, allowing presidents to federalize them for 48 hours without notice, or up to 30 days with congressional notification.

But only days later, Trump hinted at a longer occupation. Although Trump said the White House would be “asking” to extend its authority to federalize D.C. police, he suggested the administration could keep control of the MPD without lawmakers’ approval.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Trump pointing the finger at cities with Black mayors who were making historic progress on crime “tells you everything that you need to know — it is a disgrace and distraction.”

Scott claimed Trump slashed grant funding for public safety organizations that had success preventing crime and was diverting police resources, targeting gun traffickers and violent organizations.

“How is that making our city and our country safer?” Scott asked. “On [Trump’s] orders, federal law enforcement officers are patrolling neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., stopping residents and checking cars instead of doing their actual jobs.”

Legal experts said D.C.’s unique status made it especially vulnerable to federal encroachment, making it more difficult to replicate in other cities. However, they believe Trump overstepped in declaring an emergency on crime in D.C. when violent crime was the lowest in decades.

“Trump has placed Washington, D.C., under a quasi military occupation, deploying the National Guard, allegedly, to handle crime, and seizing control of the Metropolitan Police Department with crime in D.C. at a 30-year low and down another 26% this year,” Brett Edkins, co-chair at Not Above the Law Coalition and managing director for policy at Stand Up America, said. “His justification for this unprecedented move simply doesn’t hold up.”

News reports uncovered Pentagon documents suggesting that the administration wanted to create a quick reaction force of National Guard members to deploy into American cities at the president’s whim.

Advocates said Trump’s deployment of troops to California and D.C. demonstrated a pattern of unlawful use of federal forces.

“This premeditated assault on civil liberties, our right to free speech and free assembly and intrusion into local governments threatens to turn peaceful communities into occupied territories, forcing local officials to surrender control to federal military forces whenever political dissent arises,” Edkins said.

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