Bondi Rescinds D.C. Sanctuary Policies, Appoints Federal ‘Emergency Police Commissioner’

Attorney General Pam Bondi hands DEA chief Terry Cole sweeping control over D.C. police, clearing officers to aid in immigration enforcement.

 

Washington, D.C. — Attorney General Pam Bondi has rescinded local policies that restricted D.C. police from assisting in immigration enforcement and installed DEA chief Terry Cole as “emergency police commissioner,” deepening the Trump administration’s federal takeover of the capital’s law enforcement.

 

The Justice Department intensified its control over Washington, D.C., police on Thursday night as Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a sweeping order nullifying the city’s sanctuary-style laws and giving a federal official direct authority over the department.

 

The two-page directive removes restrictions that had prevented Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers from arresting individuals solely for being undocumented immigrants or from cooperating extensively with federal immigration agencies.

 

Bondi appointed Terry Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and already the point man on the federal takeover, as the city’s “emergency police commissioner.” In that role, Cole will have “all the powers and duties” of Police Chief Pamela A. Smith, who must now obtain his approval before issuing directives.

 

The order invalidates D.C. regulations enacted in 2023 and 2024 that prohibited most forms of immigration enforcement by local police.

 

“This directive makes clear that the MPD will work in close coordination with our federal partners to ensure public safety and uphold the rule of law,” Bondi said in the order.

 

Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office declined to comment immediately, though earlier in the day she said she was “very concerned” about a less aggressive immigration policy change issued by Chief Smith. That morning’s directive allowed officers working with federal agents to discuss a person’s immigration status but maintained the city’s ban on actively pursuing immigration cases.

 

Bondi’s move marks the most forceful assertion of federal control since President Trump declared a “crime emergency” in D.C. earlier this week, a step that brought hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents to patrol city streets.

 

While Bowser has criticized the emergency declaration and the influx of federal personnel, she has maintained publicly that her administration is cooperating with the Trump administration to address crime.

 

The new immigration enforcement policy is expected to become a flashpoint in the city’s ongoing struggle over home rule, with critics warning it undermines local authority and could erode community trust in law enforcement.