(Photo by DoctorJ.Bass)

Echoing the statements of mayors in big cities around the country, Mayor Muriel Bowser reaffirmed D.C.’s commitment to remain a “sanctuary city,” a designation with symbolic power and limited protections for immigrants in the country illegally.

“We are a sanctuary city because we know that our neighborhoods are safer and stronger when no one is afraid to call on our government for help, and when our police can focus on protecting and serving,” Bowser said in a statement last night. “The values, laws, and policies of Washington, D.C. did not change on Election Day. We celebrate our diversity and respect all D.C. residents no matter their immigration status.”

While campaigning in Virginia in September, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to retaliate against sanctuary cities, and has called to “block funding” to them.

Then-Mayor Vincent Gray signed an executive order five years ago that prohibits D.C. public safety officials from inquiring about immigration status during stops and limits when the District cooperates with federal authorities to turn people over for deportation—re-stating a longstanding District policy that dates back to 1984. D.C. also grants drivers’ licenses and other benefits to immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally.

In 2015, Rep. Louie Gohmert introduced legislation that would fine the District for refusing to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security on immigration orders. “We are proud to stand with our immigrants, documented and undocumented alike,” Eleanor Holmes Norton said at the time. “Donald Trump has worked up Republicans around the nation into an anti-immigrant frenzy that the Republican House has been eager to take up.”

During his first extensive post-election interview, Trump promised to immediately deport somewhere between two and three million undocumented immigrants, and reaffirmed his commitment to building a wall (in some places, he says, it will be a fence). As for the other eight to nine million immigrants? “After the border is secured and after everything gets normalized, we’re going to make a determination about the people that you’re talking about, who are terrific people,” he said.

D.C. is joined by New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and more than 25 other cities in refusing cooperation with federal authorities on immigration matters. Many of them also reaffirmed their commitment to remaining a sanctuary in recent days.

But the District’s precarious status under our GOP-controlled Congressional overlords means that federal deference to city leaders is almost certainly over, as Colbert King and others have written about the city’s future. The Republican party platform has already promised to roll back budget autonomy, gun control, and statehood efforts.