The Congressional hearing, designed to criticize sanctuary city policies, changed unexpectedly Wednesday, as planned attacks by Republican lawmakers instead disbanded into a platform that amplified Democratic mayor’s debate about immigration and urban safety.
In front of a packed room on Capitol Hill, the House Oversight Committee, led by Republican Chairman, Kentucky’s James Kommer, tried to portray the sanctuary city. It is a city that promotes city laws protecting undocumented immigrants, and is advertised as a shelter for criminal acts and foreign gangs.
“The point we have to iron today is that we have to work with federal law to hand over those illegal offenders for ice. We’ve heard reports and many of you have publicly said you’ll be blocking it,” Comer said. “It’s against the law, and we’re going to hear more about it today.”
But instead of cornering the mayor, Republican lawmakers seemed to mistakenly provide them with the national megaphone to sell local governance and approaches to immigration.
“If we want to keep us safe, we will pass gun reform,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans. That’s what makes our cities safe.”
Along with Wu, Mayor Eric Adams of New York, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, and Mike Johnston of Denver, were at the heart of national debates over the balance between local governance, immigration enforcement, and the federal orders and city discretion.
At the beginning of the statement, the mayors provided defense of the sanctuary policy. Adams emphasized that such classifications do not protect criminals, but rather that immigrant communities can trust local authorities. Johnson argued that welcoming city ordinances would not hinder criminal investigations, and Johnston framed the issue through the moral lens of humanitarian responsibility.
Woo, who brought a month-old infant, said it was the Trump administration’s excessive tactics that put American safety at stake, and border emperor Tom Homan should face Congress.
“This federal administration is afraid of hard work, tax payments and God-fearing residents living their lives,” Wu said. “Scary cities are not safe cities, and land ruled by fear is not land of freedom.”
The hearing changed when South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace asked the mayor to answer any inflammatory yes or anything, such as whether they “hated President Trump more than they loved their country.”
A cry broke out between Massachusetts Rep. Ayana Presley and Kommer, and Presley tried to enter the official record for critical headlines about the Trump administration. Comer generally accepted her previous requests until that moment.
The hearing came as national tensions over immigration grew and Trump and Republican rhetoric focused on linking the immigrant population to crime. This is a story that is inspiringly contested by the Democratic mayor and supporters of civil liberty.
Comer suggested that the sanctuary policy “creates sanctuaries for criminals,” putting public safety directly at risk. He called for the possibility of withholding federal funds from cities that restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities, and urged mayors whether to hand over undocumented immigrants to the ice.
The hearing comes as Adams faces a potential congressional investigation into the Department of Justice’s efforts to dismiss corruption charges against him.
House Oversight Committee members Jammy Ruskin and Jasmine Crockett accused federal prosecutors of taking responsibility for attempting inappropriate quid prosperity as they allegedly attempting corruption in exchange for Adams’ cooperation with Trump’s administration’s immigration policy.
At one point, California Democrat Robert Garcia publicly called Adams’ resignation and declared that he “is convinced that Adams committed the crime he was indicted,” but Adams is closing local media on the matter — adams denied the fraudulent denying it.
