Democratic mayors of 4 main cities stated Wednesday that Congress and the Trump administration are exaggerating crime dedicated by immigrants and attacking so-called sanctuary cities merely to attain political factors, as Republicans hammered the insurance policies for shielding criminals and discouraging cooperation with federal officers.
The feedback got here in a listening to earlier than the Home Committee on Oversight and Authorities Reform, the place Republicans accused the mayors of placing their cities in peril and undermining President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
Republicans have repeatedly highlighted crimes dedicated by immigrants who crossed illegally into the U.S., with Rep. James Comer opening the hearings by saying the insurance policies “only create sanctuary for criminals.”
However the Democratic mayors — Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston of Denver and Eric Adams of New York — pushed again arduous, whilst they appeared to fastidiously keep away from utilizing the time period “sanctuary.”
“We know there are myths about these laws. But we must not let mischaracterizations and fear mongering obscure the reality that Chicago’s crime rates are trending down,” Johnson informed committee in a listening to room filled with reporters and onlookers. “We still have a long way to go, but sensationalizing tragedy in the name of political expediency is not governing. It’s grandstanding.”
There’s no authorized definition for sanctuary metropolis insurance policies, however they often restrict cooperation by native regulation enforcement with federal immigration officers. Courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of sanctuary legal guidelines.
Adams famous that New York’s sanctuary insurance policies don’t enable town to violate immigration regulation or hinder enforcement.
“New York City will always comply with city, state, and federal laws as it does now,” he stated.
Adams bought among the solely reward from Republican lawmakers, with Comer thanking him for working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Adams’ critics say his collaboration is a part of an effort to wriggle out of federal corruption prices, although even earlier than Trump was elected, the mayor referred to as on metropolis lawmakers to permit New York police to work extra with ICE. The Trump administration ordered prosecutors to drop the case on the grounds that it was distracting Adams from serving to the immigration crackdown and hindering his reelection marketing campaign.
About two hours into the listening to, Democratic lawmakers started questioning him sharply over his work with the Trump administration and the dropped prices.
“Are you selling out New Yorkers to save yourself from prosecution?” requested Rep. Robert Garcia, of California.
“There’s no deal, no quid pro quo. And I did nothing wrong,” Adams stated.
Denver’s Johnston stated that crime decreased when town was confronted with an inflow of immigrants, many bussed from border states by Republican politicians. Like the opposite mayors, he additionally referred to as for immigration reform that may make it simpler for individuals to legally enter the U.S.
“If Denver can find a way to put aside our ideological differences long enough to manage a crisis we didn’t choose or create, it seems only fair to ask that the body that is actually charged with solving this national problem — this Congress — can finally commit to do the same,” he stated.
Immigration legal guidelines, the mayors stated, is a federal duty, and the try and put that duty on native regulation enforcement merely makes communities mistrust the police and others they might must name for assist.
“This federal administration’s approach is undermining that trust,” stated Wu, whose dad and mom immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan. “This federal administration is making hard-working, taxpaying, God-fearing residents afraid to live their lives.”
“You belong here,” Wu said, addressing immigrant communities in Boston. “This is your home.”
The video ends with Comer threatening to chop the cities’ federal funding if they do not cooperate with immigration enforcement.
In communities that do not cooperate on immigration, ICE brokers go in to trace down individuals after their launch. ICE argues that that is harmful and strains assets.
Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan grilled Johnston for a Denver arrest that he stated required ICE brokers to apprehend a person just lately launched from native custody, and mocked Johnston’s insistence that his metropolis was secure.
“That’s a lie because it was not safer for the ICE agents who are part of your community. No way was it safer,” he stated.
Trump administration officers have additionally argued that if communities work with them on immigration enforcement, “collateral arrests” — when ICE detains individuals apart from these focused — are much less doubtless.
“Sanctuary cities want to keep locking us out of jails,” Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told reporters recently. “They force us into the neighborhood to find the bad guys. When we find the bad guy, many times they’re with others.”
Advocates say that whereas ICE claims to focus on “the worst of the worst” — which means immigrants who’ve dedicated heinous crimes within the U.S. — they find yourself going far past that, destabilizing communities.
However the Trump administration continues to focus on them and has sued Chicago and Illinois in addition to New York state over varied immigration legal guidelines.
