(AFP) – The Democratic mayors of four US cities were set to testify in Congress Wednesday at a potentially fiery hearing on immigration, as Republican President Donald Trump’s White House pursues an aggressive mass deportation effort. Boston’s Michelle Wu, Chicago’s Brandon Johnson, Denver’s Michael Johnston, and New York’s Eric Adams are expected to be dressed down over “sanctuary city” policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration agents. All four cities have struggled to cope with a huge influx of migrants crossing from Mexico, and lawmakers in the Republican-led House Oversight Committee will also look to press the leaders on crime in their streets.
Republicans touted the hearing as an opportunity to hold sanctuary city mayors publicly accountable for “refusing to abide by the law and placing Americans’ lives at risk.” “The pro-illegal alien mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City have implemented reckless, illegal policies that shield criminal aliens from federal immigration enforcement and endanger public safety,” said committee chairman James Comer of Kentucky. “Criminal alien predators should not be free to roam our communities. State and local governments that refuse to comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts should not receive a penny of federal funding.”
Adams of New York may avoid the worst barbs as he made a show of cooperating with the White House on immigration, after Trump’s Justice Department dropped a criminal corruption and bribery case against him. Last month, Adams met with Tom Homan, Trump’s point man on border security, agreeing to help a government crackdown on undocumented migrants with criminal records, and even appeared on TV with the official to pledge his support.
Adams, who is running for another term, denies that his strong line on immigration is connected to the Justice Department’s decision, claiming that he is “just doing what he thinks is right.” Although the policies vary depending on the location, sanctuary cities typically prohibit public officials from telling federal agents about undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation. Sanctuary city officials have argued in the past that the strategy is key to building trust between immigrants, the native population, and police.
Wu, who is also seeking reelection, has been endorsed as “a friend of law enforcement” by the Boston Police Patrolman’s Association, the city’s largest police union, according to Massachusetts news portal MassLive. In Denver, some 40,000 immigrants have arrived since 2023, according to local media. Mayor Johnston said after Trump’s election that he would be willing to go to jail if necessary to block federal immigration enforcement. More recently, he pledged to work with immigration officials, but said he would continue to protect schools, churches, and hospitals from raids.
The hearing comes with Vice President JD Vance visiting the US-Mexico border at Eagle Pass in Texas to tour an immigration processing facility. Vance, the highest-ranking member of Trump’s second administration to visit the border, is expected to be joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of national intelligence.
In a speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump touted his actions to tackle illegal immigration, telling lawmakers that “as a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded.” Border patrol agents encountered around 8,000 undocumented migrants at the US-Mexico frontier in February — the lowest level since monthly records began in 2000 and a fraction of the 140,000 encounters recorded 12 months earlier under then-president Joe Biden.
– Frankie TAGGART
© 2024 AFP
