Defend DC Sanctuary Status

“We write with deep alarm at Mayor Bowser’s attempt to repeal DC’s sanctuary city protections through the proposed budget legislation. In the budget introduced this month, Mayor Bowser covertly included provisions to dismantle the sanctuary city laws that were originally enacted in 2012 and later reinforced in 2020.

These protections, solidified in the Sanctuary Values Act of 2020, are not merely symbolic. They safeguard immigrant and mixed-status families, including many Black, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (BAMEMSA) immigrant residents who are often doubly targeted by both federal law enforcement, immigration forces and local policing. D.C. residents are outraged by recent ICE raids and abductions in the region.”

Muslims for Just Futures (MJF), a grassroots organization based in Washington, DC, submitted urgent testimony opposing Mayor Bowser’s attempt to quietly repeal the Sanctuary Values Act via the FY2025 budget. Our statement highlights how this rollback would endanger broader immigrant and Black, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (BAMEMSA) immigrant communities by enabling ICE collaboration, racial profiling, and family separation. This rollback signals a dangerous shift in narrative—one that paints immigrant communities as disposable and unworthy of safety or dignity.