Trump Threatens National Emergency After DC Mayor Blocks Cops From Helping ICE

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to declare a national emergency in Washington DC after Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that DC police will no longer cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. 

Last month Trump declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capitol – with a 30-day federal takeover beginning on Aug. 11, which included federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to combat crime in the city. 

With that 30 day emergency now over, Trump said Bowser had notified the administration that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) will end its cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which Trump strongly opposes. 

“The Federal Government, under my auspices as President of the United States of America, has stepped into the complete criminal mess that was Washington, D.C., our Nation’s Capital,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “Because of this, D.C. has gone from one of the most dangerous and murder ridden cities in the U.S.A., and even around the world, to one of the safest — in just a few weeks.”

According to Trump, “crime would come roaring back” if the MPD stops cooperating with ICE, and said he would federalize the police department again if he feels its necessary.

“To the people and businesses of Washington, D.C., DON’T WORRY, I AM WITH YOU, AND WON’T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN. I’ll call a National Emergency, and Federalize, if necessary,” he continued.

Last week Bowser told reporters that the MPD’s public safety mission remains unchanged, but the department will no longer help ICE after the emergency order expires. 

“The presidential declaration compels the mayor to provide MPD services as requested by the president during the emergency for federal purposes. Immigration enforcement is such a service,” she said. “Immigration enforcement is not what MPD does. And with the end of the emergency, it won’t be what MPD does in the future.”

LIVE: Mayor Bowser Hosts Press Q&A https://t.co/Djowx4b6AM

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) September 10, 2025

Earlier this month Bowser signed an executive order to establish the “Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center” (lol wut), or SBEOC – which is tasked with overseeing DC’s response to Trump’s federal task force, which will continue coordinating law enforcement efforts with federal agencies including the US Marshals Service and the DEA, but does not include ICE. 

Over 2,000 arrests have been made across the DC area since the federal takeover began, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. Meanwhile, the National Guard has extended its troop encampment in the nation’s capital through Nov. 30. 

Even Bowser admitted late last month that crime has decreased since Trump deployed Guard troops and took federal control of the MPD, the Epoch Times notes.