The House Oversight Committee sent letters, obtained by Newsmax, to the mayors of four sanctuary cities on Monday, informing them of a congressional investigation into their “misguided” sanctuary policies and the impacts on public safety, and called them to a hearing next month.
Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., announced the broad investigations into New York, Chicago, Denver, and Boston.
“Sanctuary jurisdictions and their misguided and obstructionist policies hinder the ability of federal law enforcement officers to effectuate safe arrests and remove dangerous criminals from American communities, making Americans less safe,” Comer wrote to Democrat Mayors Eric Adams of New York, Michelle Wu of Boston, Mike Johnston of Denver and Brandon Johnson of Chicago.
In his letter, Comer said those four “stand out in their abject failure to comply with federal law.” All four mayors have been invited to a hearing before the committee on Feb. 11. In the meantime, Comer and the committee requested communications between city, county, and state officials regarding sanctuary policies and status.
“In addition to the efforts of the Trump Administration to ensure federal immigration enforcement can proceed unimpeded, Congress must determine whether further legislation is necessary to enhance border security and public safety. It is imperative that federal immigration law is enforced and that criminal aliens are swiftly removed from our communities,” Comer’s letter read.
Notably, Adams has publicly endorsed the removal of criminals who are in New York illegally, having visited President Donald Trump in Florida prior to the inauguration and hosted new border czar Tom Homan for a meeting last month.
"We're not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants, and longstanding New Yorkers," Adams said after his meeting with Homan.
Meanwhile, the three other mayors have publicly spoken out against Trump administration policies, with Johnston in Denver suggest that the city attempt to prevent federal officials from even entering the city, predicting a “Tiananmen Square moment.” He has since relented and last week said the city is willing to work with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement when it comes to violent criminals.
Wu is November vowed to protecting “our residents in every possible way,” making sure the city is “not cooperating with those efforts” to deport illegal migrants.
Johnson last week shrugged off threats of being arrested by federal officials for standing in the way of deportations.
“We are not going to be intimidated by those acts of terror to radically shift our way of living,” Johnson said. “That’s what individuals who stoke fear into people want to see happen. We are going to hold to our values.”
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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