(NewsNation) — Four sanctuary city mayors were questioned by Republican lawmakers Wednesday who claimed they were guilty of harboring migrant criminals, violating federal law and possibly obstructing justice.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, New York Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston faced what Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Summer Lee referred to as a “shakedown” by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The cities were common destinations for buses of migrants sent from Texas by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, which Republican committee members said was due largely to their welcoming city policies.
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After Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, predicted in an interview with NewsNation before the nearly six-hour hearing that mayors would reverse course on their cities’ sanctuary status, each of the leaders said they were committed to policies when asked by committee members if they would push for welcoming laws to be abandoned and if they would continue to shield criminal migrants from federal law enforcement.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu rejects claims of harboring criminals
Boston has become the latest target of border czar Tom Homan, who warned he was coming to Boston “and bringing hell with him.” Wu has lashed out against Homan, whom she accused Wednesday of “lying about my city.”
“I am here to make sure that the city of Boston is safe,” Wu said. “Others may want to bring hell. We are here to bring peace to cities everywhere.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks during a Democratic election night party in 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
The mayor disputed claims Boston is guilty of harboring migrants who have committed crimes and that the Boston Trust Act, the city ordinance that prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts, is shielding criminals. Wu said that the Trump administration’s approach to locating criminal migrants is undermining public trust.
She said Boston Police work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a criminal warrant has been issued for a migrant. She said when ICE issues a warrant that deems a migrant “dangerous enough,” the city cooperates with federal agents.
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About 54,000 migrants were sent to Boston and Massachusetts, which have spent nearly $1 billion on migrant services since 2022, according to data.
Wu said the rhetoric around her city has caused people to live in fear.
“This federal administration is making hard-working, tax-paying, God-fearing residents afraid to live their lives,” Wu said. “A city that is scared is not a city that is safe. A land ruled by fear is not the land of the free.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defends ‘Welcoming City’ status
More than 51,000 migrants have been sent to Chicago since 2022, and according to data, the city has spent more than $400 million on migrant care and services.
Like the three other mayors who testified before the committee, Johnson fought back against charges that the city has harbored criminals because of its sanctuary status. As he has in the past, Johnson put the influx of migrants arriving in Chicago at Abbott’s feet.
FILE – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson delivers his inaugural address after taking the oath of office, May 15, 2023, in Chicago. The city will again extend its 60-day limit on shelter stays for asylum seekers, Johnson announced Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, days ahead of a deadline that could have evicted nearly 2,000 migrants. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
The Chicago mayor repeatedly drew the ire of committee members, who accused the mayor of not directly answering questions that were meant to be answered with a “yes” or “no,” instead relying on prepared responses that prompted Republican committee members to chide the mayor.
The attacks came from Illinois Republican committee members, including Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood, who noted Johnson’s poor approval rating and Chicago’s financial woes and the city’s murder and violent crime rates, both of which the mayor insists have dropped since he took office in 2023.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., chided him for not having a specific dollar amount the city has spent on migrant services after Johnson said it represented 1% of the city’s budget.
“You don’t know the actual number?” Donalds said. “No wonder you’re a bad mayor.”
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Johnson defended the city’s “Welcoming City” status, which has been in place since 1984, saying it promotes trust between residents and local police.
He said that it also allows immigrants in the country illegally to provide information to police about unsolved crimes. He also said that the Trump administration’s mission to deport millions of migrants is affecting Chicago and its neighborhoods.
“Any actions that amplify fears of deportation make Chicago more dangerous,” Johnson said.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston won’t repeal sanctuary status
Like his mayoral counterparts, Johnston answered repeated questions about Denver’s role in providing sanctuary to immigrants who entered the country illegally.
That included a challenge from Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert, who asked whether Johnston would support her push to have Colorado’s sanctuary state status repealed.
“I do not believe the detainer law needs to be repealed,” he said.
Johnston, in defending Denver Police, told committee members the city has honored 1,126 ICE detainer requests. The mayor said that when ICE issues an order for a migrant who is in custody to be detained, the city notifies the agency of when the migrant is set to be released.
However, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pressed him on the release of Abraham Gonzalez, a suspected Venezuelan gang member who he said was in police custody for 354 days after being charged with aggravated assault, auto theft and felony menacing.
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Jordan criticized Johnston for only providing ICE with an hour’s lead time before Gonzalez was set to be released. He said that during the transfer of custody, Gonzalez assaulted one of the ICE agents.
Johnston responded that his office is reviewing that case while arguing that crime has gone down in his city.
Since 2022, Denver has received 42,000 migrants and spent $356 million on migrant services, according to city data.
New York Mayor Eric Adams accused of ‘selling out’ on immigration to avoid prosecution
Despite seeing about 230,000 migrants come to New York at a cost to the city of about $6.9 billion, Adams did not face as much scrutiny from the committee as his counterparts during Wednesday’s hearing.
Adams acknowledged that he had met with Homan and President Donald Trump and had discussed immigration. However, when pressed on whether his meeting with Trump at Mar-A-Lago involved conversations about the Department of Justice’s case against the New York mayor, Adams said he did not recall.
Adams previously said that New York City would work with ICE at Riker’s Island, an admission that brought claims by some that the mayor had swung a deal to have federal corruption charges against him dropped.
During one exchange, Adams declined to provide specific answers and only said that he had spoken about immigration in general with Trump and Homan.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., accused Adams of “selling out” to save himself from prosecution.
“There’s no deal,” Adams said. “No quid pro quo. I did nothing wrong.”
Adams said that more than 330 NYPD officers are assigned to work with federal joint task forces, and 70 were assigned to work with Homeland Security Investigations, the criminal arm of ICE.
Adams said that New York’s sanctuary city status does not mean that New York “will ever be a haven for violent criminals.” However, he said that immigrants, including those who entered the country illegally, pay “billions” in taxes and contribute billions more in spending power to the city’s economy.
Asked by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene whether he would continue following sanctuary laws in New York, Adams replied, “That policy is by law. I do not make the law. I must operate within the confines of the Constitution and the law.”
