D.C. AG Declares Bondi Order Unlawful, Urges MPD To Ignore Federal Rollback Of Sanctuary Protections

D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb called U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s executive order rescinding the District’s sanctuary protections unlawful and instructed Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith to ignore the order. Bondi had rescinded MPD directives limiting ICE cooperation and named DEA chief Terrence C. Cole as emergency commissioner with oversight of MPD; local leaders pushed back amid a broader federal takeover and joint operations that led to migrant arrests. The development signals an accelerating federal-local clash over immigration enforcement in the nation’s capital.