WASHINGTON – Despite the Trump administration’s threats to withhold funding, four Democratic mayors defended their cities’ sanctuary policies before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston all said their policies foster trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement.
“When there is trust between a city’s residents and the police, undocumented immigrants come forward to report crimes,” Johnson said. “Scapegoating entire communities is not only misleading, but it’s unjust and it is beneath us.”
Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance prohibits city officials from asking about an individual’s immigration status and cooperating with federal immigration enforcement actions, except in cases involving serious criminal offenses. New York City and Denver have similar laws. Sanctuary policies often also provide housing, food and help applying for legal status.
Wednesday’s hearing showcased the clash between these measures and President Trump’s immigration enforcement priorities.
House Republicans spent the hearing criticizing the mayors’ sanctuary provisions, including those who were bused in from the border over the past few years.
“Today, mayors Wu, Johnson, Johnston and Adams will be publicly accountable for their failure to follow the law and protect the American people,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said.
But the mayors countered Republican accusations that their sanctuary laws give safe harbor to criminals. Johnson and Wu cited their cities’ decreasing violent crime rates, and said their immigration policies play a role in that decline. In 2024, Boston saw record-low numbers in homicide rates.
“Last year, Boston saw the fewest homicides on record in the last 70 years,” said Wu, a daughter of immigrants and a new mom who brought her one-month-old to the hearing. “The laws on our books promote the kind of community trust that keep all of us safe.”
“As mayor, I have to protect the health and safety of everyone in our city. As a man of faith, I have a moral obligation to care for those in need,” Johnston said.
The term “sanctuary city” has no uniform definition, but generally refers to limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, Michelle Mittelstadt of the Migration Policy Institute said.
Experts say sanctuary policies do not increase crime.
“A mountain of empirical research shows that restrictions on ICE cooperation do not raise crime rates,” said David Bier of the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank.
President Trump renewed efforts to penalize sanctuary cities that he started during his first term. The Department of Transportation threatened to withhold federal funding. Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed increased enforcement by federal law enforcement officers.
“As a result of the Mayor’s decision to side with public safety threats over law-abiding citizens, DOJ will have no choice but to increase efforts in the city of Boston. Criminals will be prosecuted, illegal aliens will be arrested, and justice will be served,” Bondi posted Tuesday on the social media site X.
At the hearing, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) accused Johnson of representing migrants instead of Chicago residents.
“Who elected you? The people that came illegally, whether they were sent to you or not, or the people that reside in Chicago?”
In Chicago, city clerk Cata Truss advocated for more restrictions and accountability for migrants.
“I think that it’s okay for people to want to have a better life. I just think that it should be done legally,” she said in an interview. “We should help, but not at the expense and on the backs of people who are already suffering.”
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who represents the North side of Chicago in Congress, said that migrants fleeing violence have no legal pathways to safety.
“If you are starving, if you are escaping violence, dying, raped on the other side of the border, the only option, so that you can find some safety, is coming here through between ports-of-entry because [Congress] won’t create legal pathways,” she told Medill News Service.
One Democratic mayor seemed more open to Trump’s policies. Adams previously indicated a willingness to collaborate with federal immigration enforcement agencies in New York. Last month, he met with President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, to discuss addressing violent migrant gangs in New York City. The next day, the Department of Justice dropped charges against Adams.
On Wednesday, Adams warned that the financial burden of sheltering and providing services to large numbers of migrants would have lasting effects on New York.
“There will be long-term impacts for New Yorkers due to the amount spent on taking in large numbers of migrants,” he said.
Some experts warned that the cost of accepting migrants outweighed the benefits.
“The harm that is created by allowing criminal aliens to be released back into the community far outweighs any political gains,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that supports limiting immigration. “The human cost of these policies is just too high.”
Published in conjunction with 
