NASW Virginia Issues Statement Opposing Federal Law Enforcement Takeover of DC

(Aug. 27, 2025) The NASW Virginia Chapter has released a statement strongly opposing “the federalization of the Washington, DC police, activation of Virginia and DC National Guard members, and “surge” of federal agents and immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) officers as a strategy to combat crime and bolster the aesthetic appeal of our nation’s capital. We also voice continuing solidarity with all Virginia and DC social workers during this challenging time.”

Our statement notes that this “crime emergency” was not necessary since data show that violent crime has sunk to a 30-year low. “President Trump’s extreme approach to law enforcement--and especially the administration’s cruel disregard for the realities of the city’s unhoused population and undocumented migrants--will not end crime, homelessness, or asylum seeking, nor even ensure the sustained ‘beautification’ of DC. Our capital is already beautiful, as are its fellow 700,000 residents.” 

We also refuse “to stand by and accept this latest creep toward a national police state” and will push back on the administration’s tactics to expand executive overreach, in part by distributing NASW’s statement on homelessness, engaging with allied local social justice coalitions, peacefully protesting in the streets, and reaching out to elected officials to share expertise that may bolster the fight to advance democratic integrity and human rights. In addition, we call on social workers to fulfill their Code of Ethics obligation to advocate by getting involved.

Of special outrage has been the mistreatment and disinformation regarding DC’s population of unhoused individuals and families: “The president’s policy of forced-help-or-jail will never resolve the social challenge of homelessness, either short- or long-term. Scooping up these vulnerable individuals to dump them at undisclosed locations ‘FAR from our capital,’ including in Virginia, as Trump promised, only rips them away from local services, support, and even safe spaces.

“In addition to causing trauma, confusion, and humiliation, such actions brand these fellow humans as ‘undesirables’ and present a high risk of expanding this administration’s pattern of ‘disappearing’ people it deems ‘illegal,’ ‘criminal,’ or unworthy of the basic rights of all Americans. Homelessness is not a crime; it’s a tragedy. People who are unhoused each have unique circumstances that do not automatically equate them as mentally ill or law breakers, as federal law enforcers have claimed.

“Instead of fining impoverished people and jailing them if they refuse to accept forced directives on where and how they must reside, the Trump administration should restore funding that was cut in his ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ for evidence-based programs and staff such as social workers who help this population. He should re-invest in Medicaid and Medicare, partner with regional and DC officials already working toward long-term solutions to homelessness, and support proven policies that boost availability of affordable housing and behavioral health services.”

The statement also demands that law enforcement stop harassing and mass deporting undocumented migrants—especially children--without due process, transporting them to “nations known for human rights abuses or to U.S. detention centers that are accused of overcrowding, physical beatings, psychological torture, and deprivation of water, food, and medical care.”

Children are at particular high risk since oversight appears to be inadequate, facilities are not built for minors, and real-time supervision is not being permitted by third parties because the centers are privately owned and operated. We continue to strongly oppose the return to widespread family detention in Virginia and elsewhere, and we call on policy makers and the public to join us in advocating for due process, offering volunteer assistance to the homeless and an immediate end to the law enforcement surge and intimidation tactics that threaten Home Rule and future statehood.