Fake ICE posters target DC as sanctuary city

Several fake Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flyers that call for residents to report “illegal aliens” surfaced in Washington, D.C. neighborhoods on Thursday. Washington officials quickly pushed back on the flyers, defending the nation’s capital as a sanctuary city.

“Tear it down!” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser responded to the flyers on Twitter.

These ICE flyers are fake. DC is committed to being a #sanctuarycity. All are welcome & should feel safe here https://t.co/JFMkn1Cbh5 pic.twitter.com/2KiMFxaXk0

— David Grosso (@cmdgrosso) June 1, 2017

{mosads}

The fake flyers, which read “Sanctuary City Neighborhood Public Notice,” were found in the southwest quadrant of Washington, according to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

D.C. public officials took to Twitter to condemn the false documents.

“DC is a sanctuary city. Clearly the flyer is meant to scare and divide our residents. We won’t stand for it. #DCValues,” Bowser tweeted.

Tear it down!

DC is a sanctuary city.

Clearly the flyer is meant to scare and divide our residents.

We won’t stand for it. #DCValues https://t.co/aCf9ewJ8Ir

— MurielBowser (@MurielBowser) June 1, 2017

“Not in our neighborhoods. It will take more than fake ICE signs to intimidate DC, a proud Sancturary City,” Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) tweeted. 

Not in our neighborhoods. It will take more than fake @ICEgov signs to intimidate DC, a proud #SanctuaryCity. https://t.co/an7qUUvX1G

— Eleanor H. Norton (@EleanorNorton) June 1, 2017

 The mayor’s office said it was in contact with police and the Department of Public Works to remove the signs.

We have been in contact with @DCPoliceDept and @DCDPW to have them removed. [2/3]

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) June 1, 2017

Washington, D.C. is considered a sanctuary city, or a city that limits its cooperation with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration laws.

President Trump issued an executive order in January barring funds from such cities, however it was blocked by a San Fransisco judge in April.  

“Our city and our values did not change on Election Day,” Bowser said in January. “Being a sanctuary city means we are not an agent of the federal government. It means that our police can focus on serving D.C. residents — protecting and serving them — no matter their immigration status.”