The department — which has for years been restricted by D.C. law from cooperating with immigration authorities — was compelled to aid in immigration enforcement during the 30-day emergency Trump declared in August to fight crime. When the emergency ended Sept. 10, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said at a news conference that “immigration enforcement is not what MPD does, and with the end of the emergency, it won’t be what MPD does in the future.”

The Washington Post reviewed photos and videos of at least half a dozen incidents since Sept. 10. They show D.C. police officers with masked agents in vests — labeled HSI for Homeland Security Investigations — and D.C. police cruisers parked beside vehicles marked “U.S. Customs and Border Protection.” In two of those videos, men detained by D.C. police ended up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and remain in ICE detention centers.

Court filings over the past three weeks detail how D.C. police and Homeland Security officers have continued to patrol together. And two law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal operations said officers with HSI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have continued to attend D.C. police roll calls.

During an unrelated news conference Tuesday, when asked to clarify what was happening on the ground between D.C. police and ICE, Bowser said, “I am aware of what’s been happening on the ground and ICE is not patrolling with MPD.” In follow-up comments later in the day to The Post, Bowser reiterated that D.C. police were not on patrol with federal immigration authorities. “Ask federal immigration, don’t ask us … they’re not patrolling with us,” she said. “MPD is not giving the federal government anybody.”

The Post shared the videos, police report and DHS statements with the mayor’s office on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the mayor acknowledged that D.C. police have been patrolling with immigration authorities, saying “We never wanted MPD to patrol with Homeland Security agencies, but they are part of the task force, and that should change.” (The Department of Homeland Security includes ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations.)

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