Free DC condemns House passage of H.R. 5103
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 25, 2026
Washington, DC — Earlier today the U.S. House passed H.R. 5103, the "Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Act of 2026."
Free DC strongly condemns the passage of this bill as a direct attack on DC’s human rights and our democracy. The bill, introduced by Congressman John McGuire (R-VA-5), passed the House by a vote of 218 to 206. It would codify the unpopular federal surge forces that are terrorizing people in DC and calls for “the maximum enforcement of federal immigration law,” “facilitating the deployment of a more robust federal law enforcement presence,” and more.
The context for this bill’s passage includes: the murder of Julian Bailey at the hands of U.S. Marshals who were operating under the current "DC Safe and Beautiful Task force;" the Trump administration’s comments that military patrols will be in DC through the end of 2029, ostensibly to prevent a transfer of power; and the creation and deployment of a special brigade of the DC National Guard to coordinate with federal surge forces and local law enforcement.
In response, Free DC's Executive Director Keya Chatterjee issued the following statement:
“People in DC are being killed, shot at, arrested, and deported based on their race, thanks to the 'Safe and Beautiful' Task Force. This bill to expand that force is part of a coordinated power grab aimed at intimidating DC communities and it's neither ‘safe’ nor 'beautiful.' The Trump administration, Congressman McGuire who introduced this bill, and their allies want to instill fear in the streets and at the ballot box, so they never have to leave office. But the people of DC are the ones who have to live under this occupation, we are the ones who experience the violence at the hands of federal agents, and we remember January 6th vividly. We reject everything this bill stands for and the people attempting to make it happen."
Background
H.R. 5103 bill was introduced by Representative John McGuire and co-sponsored by Reps. Clay Higgins (R-LA-3), Ken Calver (R-CA-41), Mike Collins (R-GA-10), Michael Gues (R-MS-3) in September, 2025, during the peak of the federal surge in DC that included warrantless searches and race-based arrests. A handful of democrats also voted for this bill attacking democracy, Cuellar (D-TX), Davis (D-NC), Golden (D-ME), Gray (D-CA-13), Perez (WA-3).
The bill includes provisions that:
Direct “the maximum enforcement of federal immigration law”
Encourage the redirection of available resources to “apprehend and deport illegal aliens”
“Increase the speed of processing concealed carry license requests in the District of Columbia”
Expand “pretrial detention to the maximum extent permitted by law”
Ramp up policing at metro stations, which has been show to disproportionately impact youth, black and brown people, and low-income people
Support “facilitating the deployment of a more robust federal law enforcement presence”
This bill puts DC’s human rights and democracy in danger. When taken in the context of the new Special Brigade of the DC National Guard, as well as the assertion that military patrols should continue in DC through 2029 — at a cost of $2.4 billion — this bill is a clear attempt intimidate the people of DC, and attack the first amendment to prevent a transfer of power, as was attempted on January 6.
Call to Action
Free DC calls on every member of Congress who supports free and fair elections and a peaceful transfer of power act immediately to oppose this bill as it moves on to the Senate, and to instead co-sponsor H.R. 5093, "the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act". We urge Senators to speak out against the “DC Safe and Beautiful Act” and members of the public to join us to oppose DC's ongoing occupation at No Kings DC on Saturday, March 28 at 1:30 pm at the Frederick Douglass Bridge.
Free DC is a movement led by the people of DC to win dignity for our communities and exert our right to self-determination. For too long, the people of DC have been prevented from fully governing ourselves in ways that are deeply and fundamentally unjust. We are no longer willing to accept this and building the cultural and political power it will take to win. Learn more at FreeDCproject.org.
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