(NewsNation) — The mayors of four major U.S. sanctuary cities defended their cities’ status in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing Wednesday.
Boston’s Michelle Wu, Chicago’s Brandon Johnson, Denver’s Mike Johnston and New York City’s Eric Adams faced questions from Republicans, including committee chairman James Comer, who has vowed to hold the mayors accountable for their policies.
In January, Comer launched an investigation into sanctuary city practices he claims put “Americans’ lives at risk.”
The hearing was often combative, with Republican members of the committee aggressively questioning the witnesses and often speaking over their answers and declaring their own answers to the questions. A repeated line of questioning involved policies that keep law enforcement from heading immigrants over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement until ICE goes through the proper legal channels to obtain a warrant.
Democratic members of the committee focused on lines of questioning about crime rates and statistics around crimes committed by immigrants versus those committed by Americans.
Comer opened his questions by asking if the cities were sanctuary cities, talking over Johnston when he attempted to clarify Denver’s stance and saying he would take it as a “yes” while refusing to allow Johnston to continue to answer. He similarly ignored Wu’s efforts to clarify Boston’s stance.
The chair also pressed mayors on turning people who have been accused of crimes over to ICE. When Wu asserted that if ICE obtained a warrant, police would obey it accordingly, Comer declared that she was saying “no.”
Rep. Gerry Connelly D-Va., ranking member, focused his questions on crime, asking the assembled mayors about decreased time in their cities. He called the idea that immigrants increase crime “false” and said that punishing sanctuary cities was “war on urban America.”
The questioning from both sides of the aisle followed the tone set by Comer and Connelly as mayors defended and clarified the policies of their cities.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., focused on whether nongovernmental organizations supply support for those without proper documents, saying that there should be congressional oversight over such actions.
Democrats also hammered Adams on whether he made a deal with the Trump administration to cooperate with immigration actions in exchange for having corruption charges against him dropped. Adams denied that he had entered any kind of quid pro quo agreement.
Clash between party members
Following a line of questioning from Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., where she aggressively questioned the mayors about whether they support people without proper documents who commit crimes, at times talking over the witnesses to supply her own answers, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., attempted to enter a series of articles into the record with unanimous consent.
Comer allowed the initial request for the articles to be entered but cut Pressley off when she attempted to read the titles, which contrasted the rate of rape committed by immigrants and Americans.
Pressley argued her right to enter the articles as a member of the committee, and the two shouted over each other as Comer repeatedly cut her off before moving on to the next speaker without allowing her to read the list of articles in front of the committee.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., then entered four articles on crime and immigration into the record. When she began to ask Comer to respect her colleague’s right to enter articles into the record, he accused both her and Pressley of filibustering, again cutting her off and not allowing her to finish.
Opening statements
Adams began his opening statement by discussing efforts to reduce crime even as a sanctuary city and clarified that being a sanctuary is not the same as being a safe haven for violent criminals. He also pledged that New York would comply with state and federal laws when it comes to immigration.
He praised the work of the city’s immigrant population during COVID and said he must create an atmosphere that allows law-abiding residents to access vital services regardless of whether they have documentation or not.
Johnston addressed the committee with a reference to his Christian faith, quoting scripture about caring for those in need. He noted that after working to help newly arrived migrants, Denver had successfully ensured no one needed to remain in camps and that crime had gone down after the arrival of immigrants bused to the city.
Speaking for Chicago, Johnson also talked about falling crime rates in his city, which has been a frequent target for Republicans who have portrayed it as violent and dangerous. He spoke about the city’s long history as one that is home to immigrants who helped build it.
Wu, who brought her newborn with her, touted consistently falling rates of gun violence during her term. She spoke on Boston’s investments into the future, including increased affordable housing and access to education. Wu said police in the city put their focus on addressing crime and that immigration enforcement is the federal government’s responsibility.
She accused the Trump administration’s approach to immigration of undermining trust among residents who believe that if they call 911 in an emergency, access critical services like health care or education, or attend church, they will be at risk. Wu said the policies have made law-abiding residents “afraid to live their lives.”
David Bier, director of immigration studies with the Cato Institute, called the Trump administration’s immigration efforts “chaotic” and accused the administration of lying to the public about who they are detaining.
Bier claimed a majority of immigrants detained had no criminal record, contrary to the claims the administration was targeting dangerous criminals, and said legal immigrants had been caught up in actions and sent to detention.
He also said immigrants actually commit fewer crimes than Americans and are more likely to report crimes than native citizens, something he said was in jeopardy under the new policies. Bier, a witness for the Democrats, also accused Congress of contributing to the issue of illegal immigration by failing to pass immigration policy that facilitates legal immigration.
Comer: Mayors should walk back sanctuary status at hearing
Comer told NewsNation’s “Morning in America” he hopes Wednesday’s hearing will bring about a “reversal of course” from the mayors.
“At least three of the four mayors stated that they will not work with Tom Homan to deport the criminal illegals who are residing in those cities. So we want to know if that’s still their position,” Comer said. “Because if so, that’s illegal.”
If the mayors don’t change their tune, Comer said Congress will not financially support the cities as they “continue to obstruct the Trump administration’s effort” to deport immigrants and secure the border.
Comer also hopes to discover “how these became sanctuary cities,” hinting at collusion with the Biden administration and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Chicago has had some form of sanctuary protections since 1985, Boston since 2014, Denver since 2019 and New York since 1989, though policies have changed over time in all four cities.
What is a sanctuary city?
While there’s no set definition of a “sanctuary city,” the term generally refers to cities that limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, says a rise in modern transnational criminal gangs has created an unprecedented risk, one he’s vowed to “eradicate.”
“This is the biggest national security issue this country has seen, and we’re going to address it,” Homan said in reference to Tren de Aragua and MS-13.
Supporters of sanctuary cities say they want to be welcoming landing spots for immigrants.
“That’s just who we are. We’re a city, again, that was established by a black Haitian immigrant. That is the punch. We’re responding to individuals who don’t share our values,” Chicago’s Johnson said.
They also warn that victims and witnesses of crimes who are in the country illegally may be less likely to come forward if local law enforcement is cooperating with ICE.
The only one of the four mayors who seems willing to join forces with the Trump administration’s effort is New York’s embattled Adams, who has voiced support for rolling back policies barring city staff from working with ICE.
Adams’ detractors believe his leniency on the issue is an attempt to curry favor with the Trump administration, which recently ordered the Department of Justice to drop the mayor’s federal corruption charges.
Hearing could cost sanctuary cities federal funding
The four cities have struggled to manage the influx of migrants from the southern border, collectively spending billions of dollars on shelter and support services. But Wednesday’s hearing could strip sanctuary cities of some federal funding.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has already sued the state of New York and the city of Chicago, alleging they have obstructed the federal government from enforcing immigration laws. Shortly after Trump took office, the Department of Justice directed federal prosecutors to investigate whether local officials should face legal action for resisting federal immigration laws.
In addition to the two lawsuits, Bondi issued a memo in early February stating that sanctuary jurisdictions will not have access to federal funds from the Department of Justice.
Trump talks immigration in joint address
The president leaned into immigration during his address to Congress on Tuesday night, casting the decadeslong border crisis as merely a failure of Democratic leadership.
“Our friends in the Democrat party kept saying we needed new legislation, ‘We must have legislation to secure the border.’ But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president,” Trump said.
Trump added that his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, “didn’t just open our borders, he flew illegal aliens over them to overwhelm our schools, hospitals and communities throughout the country.”
There is no evidence of Biden funding flights for migrants to enter the U.S.
NewsNation’s Jeff Arnold, Alicia Nieves and The Associated Press contributed to this report.