The Trump administration announced it had seized control of Washington’s Union Station from Amtrak, escalating federal intervention in the nation’s capital as National Guard troops patrol city streets, according to Jurist News.
The takeover was announced by Transportation Secretary Sean
Duffy, who claimed the goal was to ensure sanitary conditions and the absence
of unhoused individuals from the busy transportation hub.
Critics have slammed the move as the latest instance of the
Administration’s federalization of DC, particularly as it comes on the heels of
Trump’s establishment of a “special unit” of the National
Guard to address crime in the nation’s capital. Prior to that, Trump issued an executive order to place DC’s police force
under federal control. One commentator said that
“the federal surge of officers in DC and deployment of national guardsmen on
our streets are dangerous, unnecessary, and an affront to Home Rule.” Another
blatantly warned that “DC is under siege.”
While DC mayor Muriel Bowser said the heightened presence of
federal officers has lowered crime, she said that the presence of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
agents and National Guard members “is not working.” Moreover, she noted the
importance of federal officers’ working in tandem with local law enforcement:
The difference between this period, this 20 day period of
this federal surge, and last year, represents an 87% reduction in carjackings
in Washington DC [but] what we want is local control of our public safety
ecosystem… we want federal officers that work in coordination with us, DEA,
ATF, FBI, who…work with us on major crime issues all the time. And our officers
are familiar with working with them, and they have been helpful in the field.
To read more CLICK HERE
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment