The government of the District of Columbia has removed a webpage that touted Washington, D.C. as a “sanctuary city.”
According to Axios, an FAQ page on immigration rights, discrimination and school access is gone.
- The webpage had contained statements Bowser made after the 2016 election, when she declared D.C. was "doubling down" on being a sanctuary city. At the time, Bowser marshaled taxpayer dollars to fight deportations, creating grants for defense lawyers and nonprofits to help undocumented immigrants.
- She put D.C. in the same camp as Chicago, Los Angeles and other Democratic-run cities and states who were resisting the first Trump administration's deportation threats.
- As she told a group of irate anti-Trump activists in November that year: "I have asserted firmly that we are a sanctuary city." (Axios)
Every city should delete sanctuary city status. https://t.co/1HFC5W9iZS
— Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) March 8, 2025
The move comes as the Democrat mayor has softened her tone since the 2024 election. Last month, for instance, she told the press she doesn’t use the term “sanctuary city” anymore because it’s “misleading.”
"It's misleading to suggest to anyone that if you're violating immigration laws, that this is a place where you can violate immigration laws," she said. "You are vulnerable to federal immigration enforcement."
She also said the District would "follow the law" when asked in December if she planned to "comply with ICE detainer orders."
Notably, Bowser was not among the Democrat mayors who were called to testify over sanctuary city policies. As Madeline reported, that hearing included Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Bowser made headlines last week for announcing the Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House would be painted over.
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