On November 5, many of us testified at the DC Council on three crucial bills that provide safety and accountability to DC residents during Trump’s dangerous and deadly occupation.
For over a year, we've seen MPD collaborate with federal agents in unprecedented ways and at unprecedented levels. We routinely see MPD traveling, responding, acting, and communicating with federal agents, including the FBI, Park Police, DEA, and HSI (a department of ICE), as these agents carry out Trump's racist campaign of detention and deportation. We've seen MPD help federal agents violate residents' rights against unlawful searches or questioning, and we've even seen them cover up when federal agents shoot at people.
In order to gain greater protections for DC residents, we urge the council to:
Pass the Body-Worn Camera Transparency for Use of Force Amendment Act of 2026 to ensure MPD's body-worn camera footage is released when they record a federal agent using force
Pass the Full Accountability in Arrest Reporting Amendment Act of 2026 to ensure MPD arrest reports and affidavits include all federal agents present and any use of force by those agents
Strengthen then pass the Safe Community Places and Policing Amendment Act of 2026 to close the loophole that lets MPD assist with immigration enforcement
The emergency Body-Worn Camera legislation was crucial for releasing footage from the shooting of Philip Brown. Last year, A DHS agent fired into Brown’s car and MPD attempted to conceal the shooting from official reports. The body-cam footage disproved federal claims about Brown’s behavior and protected him from the manipulation of the truth.
The Safe Community Places and Policing Amendment Act would bar MPD from engaging with immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant or an order from a federal judge. Currently the Act still includes a loophole that allows MPD traffic stops to become immigration arrests. The Safe Community Places Act needs to be strengthened by removing “civil” as a qualifier for the type of immigration enforcement activity MPD is barred from conducting. If the law only bars MPD from assisting with surveillance or patrols for civil immigration enforcement activity, then federal agents can simply claim they are going after "criminals.” We have seen this regime repeatedly refer to undocumented immigrants as “criminals,” and we are not falling for their schemes.
The DC Council must pass these laws in their strongest possible form and remind everyone that MPD works for us, not the regime.
Robert White, who was the original sponsor of the FAAR Act, has stepped down from his position on the DC Council. That means our voices are needed more than ever to help carry this bill to the finish line.
Please join us to tell our councilmembers to support these bills for transparency, accountability, and a safer DC.
