Jeanine Pirro, former host of Judge Jeanine at Fox News and current interim United States attorney for the District of Columbia, has announced that to combat DC's sanctuary city policies, the immigration status of all defendants entering the DC justice system will be verified.
Pirro said that this new policy, which is in line with President Trump’s directive to “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful,” will ensure that illegal immigrants are no longer clogging up the DC justice system. Previously, there was no such verification system, and illegal immigrants were treated as typical defendants, either facing conviction for their crimes or acquitted and released back out into DC.
In line with President Trump’s directive to “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful,” my office will determine every defendant’s legal status as soon as a matter is brought here.
— US Attorney Pirro (@USAttyPirro) July 28, 2025
I am cutting the red tape and pushing back against the sanctuary city status of D.C. so that we can protect… pic.twitter.com/rGqOVKbEwu
As US Attorney Pirro said, the DC city council, in tandem with Mayor Muriel Bowser, has fought to limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, especially as President Trump seeks to crack down on illegal immigration and sanctuary cities. These policies prevent local law enforcement and jail officials from sharing information with ICE, detaining illegal immigrants for ICE without a judicial order, or allowing ICE to interview detainees without court approval. Recently, the Mayor has been attempting to repeal these policies, but not without significant pushback from the city council, which believes cooperation with ICE is a public safety risk.
Pirro is making it clear: federal law enforcement won’t be hamstrung by local politics, and cooperation with ICE will happen.