By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
As the U.S. House Rules Committee met recently to consider three Republican-backed bills targeting the District of Columbia’s local governance, and ahead of Donald Trump’s takeover of D.C., Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) denounced the measures as “paternalistic” and undemocratic attacks on the will of more than 700,000 D.C. residents.
The bills under consideration would override local D.C. laws on voting, policing, and immigration cooperation. Norton said the legislation represents yet another federal overreach into matters that should be decided by D.C.’s local government. One of the bills, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), seeks to prohibit noncitizen D.C. residents from voting in local elections. The D.C. Council passed a law in 2022 allowing noncitizen residents—such as green card holders and DACA recipients—to vote in local races, such as for mayor or city council. The measure does not apply to federal elections. Pfluger’s bill, H.R. 192, would nullify that law and bar any such local legislation in the future. A second bill, introduced by Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), would roll back parts of D.C.’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022. That act was passed by the D.C. Council in the wake of the 2020 police protests and includes provisions to increase police transparency and accountability, such as limits on use of force, expanded access to body camera footage, and restrictions on the hiring of officers with prior misconduct records. Garbarino’s bill seeks to repeal several of those measures.
The third bill, introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), would nullify D.C. laws, policies, or practices that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. It would require the District to honor all requests from the Department of Homeland Security related to immigration detainers and other enforcement measures. D.C. has enacted sanctuary city policies in recent years, aligning with broader efforts to shield undocumented immigrants from federal deportation operations and to promote trust between local officials and immigrant communities. “Republicans introduced 14 bills or amendments to prohibit noncitizens from voting in D.C. or to repeal, nullify, or prohibit the carrying out of D.C.’s law that permits noncitizens to vote last Congress,” Norton said in a statement ahead of the Rules Committee meeting. “Despite being fixated on the subject of D.C. elections, Republicans refuse to make the only election law change D.C. residents have asked Congress to make, which is the right to hold elections for voting members of the House and Senate by passing my D.C. statehood bill.”
Norton also criticized the timing of Garbarino’s police legislation, noting that it came just days after House Republicans passed a continuing resolution that slashed D.C.’s local budget by $1 billion. “That was an act of fiscal sabotage, which did not save the federal government any money,” she said. “It’s been almost three months since the Senate passed the D.C. Local Funds Act to reverse the cut and over two months since President Trump called for an immediate House vote on it. The D.C. Local Funds Act is still just sitting in the House. Like President Trump and the National Fraternal Order of Police, I call on the House immediately to pass the D.C. Local Funds Act.” Norton said D.C. has followed its values, the available evidence, and the democratic process in adopting laws to protect the safety and dignity of all residents, including immigrants. “Congress has no business overturning D.C.’s democratically enacted local laws and should keep its hands off D.C.,” she said.
