The House passed legislation on Thursday that requires the District of Columbia to comply with all federal immigration laws, the first step to codifying a piece of President Donald Trump’s wider agenda to make Washington, D.C., “safe and beautiful” again.
The District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act of 2025 passed the lower chamber, 234-194. Eleven Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the bill, which requires compliance with immigration laws from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It also removes D.C.’s sanctuary jurisdiction laws.
“The D.C. City Council has a history of thumbing its nose at federal agencies, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that are responsible for protecting national security and the safety and wellbeing of the American people,” Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said during Monday’s hearing to pass the rule on three D.C.-focused bills that hit the floor this week.
“As the nation’s capital, the District of Columbia should set a serious example that harboring illegal aliens and obstructing the work of federal law enforcement is not an option,” Foxx added.
The other two D.C.-centric bills passed on Tuesday were the Protecting Our Nation’s Capital Emergency Act, which received support from 30 Democrats, and a bill barring noncitizens from voting in D.C. elections, which received 56 “yes” votes from Democrats.
All three stem from Trump’s executive orders targeting D.C., particularly after he established the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force to monitor the district’s sanctuary status and compliance with federal immigration law.
The District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act will now head to the Senate, where it must be passed and signed by Trump to overturn D.C. law.
It could face roadblocks in the Senate due to the 60-vote filibuster, but some Democratic senators in swing states may join their Republican colleagues in voting for the bill.
HOUSE GOP PLANS VOTES ON DC, BUT NOT THE ONE WASHINGTONIANS WANT
The House’s votes this week on legislation targeting D.C. left out one key bill: a funding fix that would undo nearly a billion dollars in cuts to D.C.’s budget. A stopgap spending bill, passed earlier this year to avoid a government shutdown, reverted the district to its 2024 budget until Congress finishes its next appropriations process.
The Senate unanimously passed the funding fix bill shortly after the continuing resolution was passed. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) promised the House would move “as quickly as possible” on passage, but leadership has not indicated when it will call up the bill for a vote.