Mayor Vincent Gray signed a policy on Wednesday that prohibits city police from asking about immigration status, but city officials said the District still plans to comply with the federal Secure Communities initiative aimed at identifying and deporting illegal immigrants accused of committing other crimes. The executive order, which confirmed a long-standing policy, drew praise from immigrant rights groups that packed the room on Wednesday. The District’s Office of Latino Affairs had invited people to the event, calling it an important symbolic gesture.

In late September, demonstrators, including the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, had rallied at city hall to ask for an executive order protecting immigrants against the federal program.