Mayors of sanctuary cities face challenges in responding to GOP's 'pro-criminal' accusations
Republicans are challenging Democrats as they strive to gain the upper hand in the ongoing messaging battles surrounding immigration policy.
TroibNews 
Democratic mayors were summoned to Washington on Wednesday to defend their responses to the immigration crisis, facing Republican accusations of violence and the need for rescue by the GOP administration.
This event marked the peak of months of persistent criticism from President Donald Trump and his supporters, signaling further actions from the administration — including Vice President JD Vance’s visit to the southern border later that day — aimed at keeping Democrats on the defensive regarding this pivotal issue.
During a six-hour hearing, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee interrogated mayors from Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City, shortly after Trump’s joint address to Congress, where he claimed to have initiated “the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history.” Echoing the administration's sentiments, congressional Republicans highlighted isolated incidents of violence involving undocumented immigrants, attempting to argue that sanctuary cities should cooperate with federal authorities. The mayors countered that no law mandates local authorities to collaborate with U.S. immigration officials.
“Sanctuary cities make us all less safe and are a public safety nightmare,” asserted House Oversight Chair James Comer. He emphasized the need to confront what he termed “pro-criminal alien policies” and the dangers posed by “obstructionist sanctuary cities” to American communities and the safety of federal immigration enforcement officers.
In response, Democrats offered detailed, often complex legal arguments about the division of authority and responsibility related to immigration. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defended his city’s sanctuary policies, explaining that they enable local law enforcement to concentrate on local matters.
The proceedings highlighted the struggle Democrats face under escalating GOP pressure on immigration, a critical electoral matter where they have had difficulty gaining ground, even as the Trump administration pursued unpopular initiatives like ending birthright citizenship and enabling ICE to make arrests in sensitive locations such as schools and churches.
During the hearing, Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch acknowledged the challenges of formulating a comprehensive immigration policy amid overlapping responsibilities of Congress and local governments. “There’s a tension between that authority of Congress to act under Article I of the Constitution, and then your responsibility, nobly taken, to provide a safe environment for the residents and visitors to your cities,” he said. “How do we reconcile? And I’m asking you for advice.”
The mayors had little to offer in terms of solutions, instead directing their appeals back to Congress, urging the passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill. "Respectfully, congressman, you could pass bipartisan legislation, and that would be comprehensive immigration law,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu informed Rep. Paul Gosar. “The false narrative is that immigrants in general are criminals, or immigrants in general cause all sorts of danger and harm. That is actually what is undermining safety in our communities.”
However, such calls might not resonate within a Republican-dominated legislature, where GOP priorities lean more toward decreasing illegal immigration rather than broadening citizenship pathways.
The Trump administration has its own agenda, pushing Congress to address resource needs as it seeks to fulfill its immigration goals. The president relayed a funding request to Congress and urged swift action, promising to execute the “largest deportation operation in American history.”
On the ground in Texas, Vance visited Eagle Pass to assess migrant apprehensions, striving to generate support for the funding request amid resource limitations that threaten the administration’s deportation objectives. “We didn't need new laws to secure the border, we needed a new president, and thank God we have that,” Vance remarked.
Throughout the hearing, Democrats emphasized the positive contributions of immigration, with Wu claiming that mass deportations would be “devastating for our economy.” On occasion, both Democratic mayors and Oversight Committee Democrats attempted to divert the discourse, with Wu advocating for gun control legislation and Medicaid protection in response to GOP discussions of health care cuts.
On the Republican front, committee members pressed the mayors to account for violence they attributed to lax immigration enforcement, bringing forth emotionally charged narratives. Rep. Jim Jordan pointed to the arrest of an alleged Venezuelan gang member in Denver, while Rep. Nancy Mace criticized the mayors for purportedly having “blood” on their hands. Rep. Clay Higgins displayed a photo of a baby whose parent had been killed by an undocumented immigrant, stressing the responsibility mayors hold toward their communities and the nation.
Jordan confronted Denver Mayor Mike Johnston regarding the incident, to which Johnston responded that he had reviewed video evidence and was willing to discuss potential procedural changes with ICE.
Interestingly, mayors from Californian cities with sanctuary policies were not called to testify, a missed opportunity noted by Rep. Tom McClintock, who suggested they should face scrutiny in the future.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams received a warmer reception from Republicans compared to his peers, having aligned with the Trump administration on immigration issues following the Justice Department's decision to drop a corruption case against him. Comer expressed gratitude for Adams’s cooperation with ICE, while Democrats alleged a quid pro quo involving the dismissal of his case—a claim Adams firmly denied.
Despite expectations, the hearing did not resonate as significantly as previous ones, such as the late 2023 hearing with university presidents over antisemitic conduct on their campuses, with Republicans failing to catch the mayors off-guard as effectively as Rep. Elise Stefanik did with college leaders.
Tensions did flare at times, mirroring earlier Oversight Committee meetings. Comer threatened to remove Rep. Ayanna Pressley after she attempted to introduce an article into the Congressional record. “This trend of you all trying to get thrown out of committees so you can get on MSNBC is gonna end,” he asserted. “We’re not gonna put up with it.”
Contributions to this report were made by Irie Sentner, Myah Ward, Emily Ngo, Kelly Garrity, and Alex Nieves.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
This event marked the peak of months of persistent criticism from President Donald Trump and his supporters, signaling further actions from the administration — including Vice President JD Vance’s visit to the southern border later that day — aimed at keeping Democrats on the defensive regarding this pivotal issue.
During a six-hour hearing, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee interrogated mayors from Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City, shortly after Trump’s joint address to Congress, where he claimed to have initiated “the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history.” Echoing the administration's sentiments, congressional Republicans highlighted isolated incidents of violence involving undocumented immigrants, attempting to argue that sanctuary cities should cooperate with federal authorities. The mayors countered that no law mandates local authorities to collaborate with U.S. immigration officials.
“Sanctuary cities make us all less safe and are a public safety nightmare,” asserted House Oversight Chair James Comer. He emphasized the need to confront what he termed “pro-criminal alien policies” and the dangers posed by “obstructionist sanctuary cities” to American communities and the safety of federal immigration enforcement officers.
In response, Democrats offered detailed, often complex legal arguments about the division of authority and responsibility related to immigration. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defended his city’s sanctuary policies, explaining that they enable local law enforcement to concentrate on local matters.
The proceedings highlighted the struggle Democrats face under escalating GOP pressure on immigration, a critical electoral matter where they have had difficulty gaining ground, even as the Trump administration pursued unpopular initiatives like ending birthright citizenship and enabling ICE to make arrests in sensitive locations such as schools and churches.
During the hearing, Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch acknowledged the challenges of formulating a comprehensive immigration policy amid overlapping responsibilities of Congress and local governments. “There’s a tension between that authority of Congress to act under Article I of the Constitution, and then your responsibility, nobly taken, to provide a safe environment for the residents and visitors to your cities,” he said. “How do we reconcile? And I’m asking you for advice.”
The mayors had little to offer in terms of solutions, instead directing their appeals back to Congress, urging the passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill. "Respectfully, congressman, you could pass bipartisan legislation, and that would be comprehensive immigration law,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu informed Rep. Paul Gosar. “The false narrative is that immigrants in general are criminals, or immigrants in general cause all sorts of danger and harm. That is actually what is undermining safety in our communities.”
However, such calls might not resonate within a Republican-dominated legislature, where GOP priorities lean more toward decreasing illegal immigration rather than broadening citizenship pathways.
The Trump administration has its own agenda, pushing Congress to address resource needs as it seeks to fulfill its immigration goals. The president relayed a funding request to Congress and urged swift action, promising to execute the “largest deportation operation in American history.”
On the ground in Texas, Vance visited Eagle Pass to assess migrant apprehensions, striving to generate support for the funding request amid resource limitations that threaten the administration’s deportation objectives. “We didn't need new laws to secure the border, we needed a new president, and thank God we have that,” Vance remarked.
Throughout the hearing, Democrats emphasized the positive contributions of immigration, with Wu claiming that mass deportations would be “devastating for our economy.” On occasion, both Democratic mayors and Oversight Committee Democrats attempted to divert the discourse, with Wu advocating for gun control legislation and Medicaid protection in response to GOP discussions of health care cuts.
On the Republican front, committee members pressed the mayors to account for violence they attributed to lax immigration enforcement, bringing forth emotionally charged narratives. Rep. Jim Jordan pointed to the arrest of an alleged Venezuelan gang member in Denver, while Rep. Nancy Mace criticized the mayors for purportedly having “blood” on their hands. Rep. Clay Higgins displayed a photo of a baby whose parent had been killed by an undocumented immigrant, stressing the responsibility mayors hold toward their communities and the nation.
Jordan confronted Denver Mayor Mike Johnston regarding the incident, to which Johnston responded that he had reviewed video evidence and was willing to discuss potential procedural changes with ICE.
Interestingly, mayors from Californian cities with sanctuary policies were not called to testify, a missed opportunity noted by Rep. Tom McClintock, who suggested they should face scrutiny in the future.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams received a warmer reception from Republicans compared to his peers, having aligned with the Trump administration on immigration issues following the Justice Department's decision to drop a corruption case against him. Comer expressed gratitude for Adams’s cooperation with ICE, while Democrats alleged a quid pro quo involving the dismissal of his case—a claim Adams firmly denied.
Despite expectations, the hearing did not resonate as significantly as previous ones, such as the late 2023 hearing with university presidents over antisemitic conduct on their campuses, with Republicans failing to catch the mayors off-guard as effectively as Rep. Elise Stefanik did with college leaders.
Tensions did flare at times, mirroring earlier Oversight Committee meetings. Comer threatened to remove Rep. Ayanna Pressley after she attempted to introduce an article into the Congressional record. “This trend of you all trying to get thrown out of committees so you can get on MSNBC is gonna end,” he asserted. “We’re not gonna put up with it.”
Contributions to this report were made by Irie Sentner, Myah Ward, Emily Ngo, Kelly Garrity, and Alex Nieves.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
