Politics
Brandon Johnson Will Testify to Congress About Chicago’s Sanctuary City Status on March 5
Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks at a news conference on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (WTTW News)
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday accepted an invitation from the Republican chairperson of the U.S. House Oversight Committee to testify about the city’s self-proclaimed status as a sanctuary city.
Johnson will appear March 5 alongside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, according to a statement from his office. All four are Democrats.
Johnson’s appearance is likely to represent a flashpoint in the ongoing battle with the GOP-controlled U.S House and the Trump administration, which is attempting to strip self-proclaimed sanctuary cities of all federal funding.
Johnson has repeatedly said Chicago will remain a welcoming city and Chicago police officers will continue to be prohibited from helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deport undocumented Chicagoans.
Johnson has blasted Trump’s efforts to launch the largest mass deportation in American history as “unconscionable and abhorrent.”
U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), the committee’s chair, also requested all documents and communications related to Chicago’s sanctuary status, including those between each city, non-governmental organizations and state officials. State law also prohibits law enforcement agents from assisting federal immigration agents.
“Sanctuary mayors have prioritized criminal illegal aliens over the American people,” Comer said in a statement posted to the social media platform X. “They owe Americans an explanation for their policies that jeopardize public safety and violate federal immigration law by releasing dangerous criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets. These reckless policies in Democrat-run cities and states across our nation have led to too many preventable tragedies. They also endanger ICE agents who are forced to take more difficult enforcement actions in jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. We will press these mayors for answers and examine measures to enforce compliance with federal immigration law.”
Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance is designed to ensure that all Chicago residents, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, can obtain city services, including police protection and medical care.
Read More: What Does It Mean That Chicago Is a Sanctuary City? Here’s What to Know
Trump’s reelection has already prompted many undocumented immigrants to return to life in the city’s shadows, for fear of exposing themselves or their families to deportation, immigrant advocates said.
Federal officials have released few details about who they were seeking, whether they have been convicted of crimes and why those people had been targeted.
Homan told CNN on Jan. 27 that his agents would pursue “national security” or “public safety” threats into schools, hospitals and churches.
“We’ll go where we’ve got to go,” Homan said, after expressing frustration that efforts led by Chicago officials and immigration advocates to educate undocumented immigrants had made deportation efforts “very difficult.”
“For instance, Chicago (is) very well educated,” Homan said. “They call it ‘know your rights.’ I call it how to escape arrest, ... how to hide from ICE.”
Homan said he was willing to play a “cat and mouse game” until “every one of them gone.”
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
