Legislation

Among other things, ACLU-D.C. urges the Council to put pressure on MPD to implement all recommendations from the Office of the D.C. Auditor (Auditor) and Office of Police Complaints (OPC); pass legislation prohibiting all District government entities, including all entities designated as law enforcement, from collaborating with any federal agency for the purpose of carrying out immigration enforcement; and taking a more compassionate approach to concerns about youth misbehavior, by investing in proven crime prevention strategies, rather than punitive ones, like the youth curfew.

The current occupation of D.C. and overzealous policing we are witnessing from federal law enforcement agencies alongside officers of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD, the Department) are not new for some communities. Black, immigrant, and other marginalized people, who have long been over policed and used as scapegoats for policy failures or political fodder, have always been the canaries in the coal mine. And they have also been at the forefront of movements fighting to make this society one that truly protects and keeps all of us safe.

The ACLU-DC testified in strong support of the bill, which limits the District’s involvement in federal immigration enforcement by prohibiting cooperation between District government agencies and federal immigration authorities such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The ACLU supports the UDC DREAM Amendment Act of 2015, as a matter of fairness for all those high-achieving students who graduated from District high schools and successfully gained admission to the University of the District of Columbia, often against remarkable odds.