JORGE MARTINEZ: The Woke Media Is Wrong. America’s Cities Need To Be Safe Again

From the Nation’s capital to sanctuary cities coast-to-coast, President Donald J. Trump is demonstrating unwavering resolve and effective leadership in restoring law and order and the safety American families deserve.

In the heart of Washington, D.C., under President Trump’s decisive leadership, the federal government invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to declare a “crime emergency” and place the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control — an unprecedented move guided by the urgent need to protect Americans under siege. This bold action deployed National Guard troops and federal agents, resulting in more than 400 arrests, including 60 individuals suspected of being undocumented immigrants and the seizure of 27 firearms. This marks a serious restoration of public safety in our Nation’s capital.

While critics cite data showing violent crime in D.C. was at a 30-year low and trending downward — including a 35% overall decline and a 37% drop in carjackings in 2025 — recent reporting suggests that these numbers may not tell the whole story. According to Fox News, D.C. police officials are accused of manipulating crime statistics in the weeks leading up to the federal takeover, allegedly reclassifying or downgrading violent incidents to mask the true scale of lawlessness. This raises a chilling question: Were Americans being misled about the reality on the ground just to protect political narratives?

President Trump certainly thought so, and his hunch was right. Ask anyone who lives or has visited D.C. recently, and they’ll tell you the streets of our capital have been a mess. Now, thanks to President Trump, it’s starting to feel like a safer environment for families, as it should. (RELATED: New DC Arrest Stats Spell Bad News For Media’s Latest Anti-Trump Narrative)

Beyond Washington, D.C., the Trump-Vance Administration is placing sanctuary jurisdictions squarely on notice. More than 500 jurisdictions, including states like California, Illinois, New York, and Washington, and influential counties such as Cook County and San Francisco, have been officially designated as obstructing federal immigration enforcement. Attorney General Pam Bondi has signaled that continued defiance could trigger withdrawal of federal funding and criminal enforcement, powerful measures designed to protect American communities from criminal alien elements.

Take New York City, for instance, where the U.S. Department of Justice has filed suit, asserting that sanctuary policies have allowed “thousands of criminals” back onto the streets without accountability. President Trump is not only demanding cooperation; he’s demanding accountability and refers to sanctuary policies not as protections, but as threats to public safety.

Earlier this year, the Trump-Vance Administration launched a nationwide immigration enforcement campaign that so far has resulted in the arrests of more than 300,000 illegal aliens. About 70% of those are criminal illegal aliens with criminal charges or convictions. These actions reinforce the administration’s commitment to safeguarding communities from criminal elements hiding behind sanctuary policies.

This past January, President Trump issued Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, which expanded deportation tools such as expedited removal, denied federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions, and increased staffing for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), reinforcing priorities for immigration-related public safety enforcement.

President Trump also zeroed out wasteful “consent decrees” that hampered state and local governments’ ability to address vagrancy and public disorder, redirecting federal funds toward substance-abuse programs and civil commitment where appropriate. This brings practical solutions to streets once marred by chaos.

President Trump’s approach is neither abstract rhetoric nor symbolic; it is action-driven. From exposing manipulated crime statistics in Washington, D.C., to tens of thousands of deportations in sanctuary cities, to restoring federal cooperation and securing our borders, he is delivering on his promise to make America safe again.

Looking past the woke media noise, Americans will be glad he did it. Consider the latest news from this D.C. crime crackdown, where an MS-13 gang member was arrested. Had President Trump not stepped in, a local resident or future visitor could’ve been this criminal’s next victim.

If we are to preserve the American dream and the stability our children inherit, law and order must remain foundational. Standing up to sanctuary jurisdictions, enforcing federal immigration laws, reclaiming urban streets, and deploying resources where they matter, the president is making our communities safe for all of us.

In D.C. and cities across the country, Americans should start to feel safe again, thanks to the Trump Administration. If it’s not clear to the critics, it certainly is to the rest of us; all we ever needed was a new president.

Jorge Martínez is Senior Advisor and National Director of Hispanic Outreach for America First Works. He formerly served as press secretary at the U.S. Department of Justice.

 The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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