President Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans’ assault on the autonomy of the District of Columbia has ramped up as the House Oversight Committee, under Republican control, mull legislation that would strip the District of its sanctuary city status and require D.C. officials to comply with federal immigration laws fully.
Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana introduced the legislation, titled the District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act, and it represents yet another attempt by Trump-aligned Republicans to undermine the District’s right to self-govern.
The bill mandates that D.C. agencies and local law enforcement cooperate fully with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Under the proposed law, the District government would be prohibited from maintaining any statute, ordinance, policy, or practice that restricts or prevents officials from exchanging information with federal, state, or local entities regarding the immigration or citizenship status of individuals — regardless of whether that status is lawful or unlawful.
Further, the act would force D.C. to comply with federal detainer requests, including notifications of the release of individuals from local custody. The only exception written into the bill allows the District to withhold cooperation if the individual involved is a victim or witness to a crime and has come forward as such.
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District’s longtime non-voting representative in Congress, strongly denounced the bill as an affront to both the city’s autonomy and immigrant communities.
“I strongly oppose this undemocratic anti-immigrant bill, which would nullify duly enacted laws, policies, and practices of the District of Columbia,” Norton said.
The District first adopted sanctuary city policies during Trump’s first term, in part as a response to the administration’s harsh immigration enforcement tactics. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities to protect undocumented immigrants from detention and deportation based solely on immigration status.
More recently, however, the District has pulled back. D.C. government removed its official webpage that previously declared the city a sanctuary jurisdiction.
District Mayor Muriel Bowser has also distanced herself from the term, stating that “sanctuary city” is misleading and gives the impression that D.C. allows violations of federal immigration law.
Still, Republicans have continued to target the District’s policies — and its status as a majority-Black city without statehood or full congressional representation. The latest legislative push follows previous efforts to overturn D.C. criminal justice reforms, interfere with its budget decisions, and block local laws passed by the D.C. Council.
If passed, the bill would further strip the District of its limited autonomy by giving the federal government the final say over how D.C. responds to immigration matters within its own jurisdiction.
“This bill is not only anti-immigrant, it’s anti-democracy,” Norton said.
