D.C. Council pauses Bowser’s push to repeal sanctuary-city status
Lawmakers removed her proposed repeal from a budget bill, but Congress might have the final say on the issue.
The D.C. Council is pumping the brakes on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s push to repeal the local law that restricts city agencies from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
Bowser had included the repeal of the six-year-old "sanctuary-city" law in her proposed budget for 2026, burying the language in a 300-page budget bill. But a council committee removed that provision this week, effectively killing it – unless Bowser decides to introduce the repeal as standalone legislation. It’s not yet clear if she plans to do so.
The law – known as the Sanctuary Values Amendment Act – was unanimously approved by the council and signed by Bowser in 2019, during the first Trump administration. It addressed what are known as detainer requests, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ask local law enforcement or a jail to hold someone who would otherwise be released so they can be picked up by immigration agents. D.C.'s law prohibits agencies from honoring such detainer requests, unless a warrant or judicial order is provided, and forbids federal immigration officials from questioning people in the city’s custody. (Local police also don't inquire about the immigration status of people they detain or arrest.)
Liberal jurisdictions with similar protections have come under fire from the Trump administration in recent months; the Department of Homeland Security recently released a list of some 400 sanctuary jurisdictions across the country (including D.C.) it said are “deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws and endangering American citizens.” (The list was quietly deleted days later after some localities pushed back on their inclusion despite support for the president’s policies.)
Bowser’s move to repeal the law was seen as another attempt to mollify the Trump administration, largely over concerns that the White House and Republican-led Congress could more aggressively interfere in local matters or even repeal home rule. Despite having hailed D.C. as “proud sanctuary city” in the past, Bowser quietly removed a city website that touted its support for immigrants and stopped using the phrase “sanctuary city.”
But the mayor’s push to repeal the sanctuary-city law fell flat with most lawmakers and many advocates, both because of the issue itself and how she wanted to pass it.
“There was no public discussion, no transparent process,” said Jacqueline Castaneda, president of the D.C. Latino Caucus, in testimony to the council this month. “Instead, it appears to be a secret effort to overturn the hard-fought protections, leaving our immigrant neighbors once more living in fear.”
"If this is important to the mayor she should have introduced it as freestanding legislation," said Council Chairman Phil Mendelson earlier this month. "I can’t help but feel that it’s tucked in a 300-page [budget bill] in the hopes that no one notices."
But even if the mayor doesn’t move to repeal the law through a different legislative process (her office hasn’t responded to a request for comment), other challenges loom to the city's sanctuary status.
The House approved a bill to nullify D.C.’s sanctuary-city law earlier this month, with Republicans claiming that the city was standing in the way of federal law enforcement efforts. (City officials say they do comply with detainer requests accompanied by a judicial warrant.) The House also voted to repeal D.C.’s law that allows non-citizens to vote in local elections, and another law that took discipline out of the matters that are discussed by the city and the police union during contract negotiations.
All three bills head next to the Senate.
