The “Sanctuary” jurisdiction hearing comes amid a Los Angeles protest where Trump deployed the National Guard to protect federal buildings and immigration and customs enforcement agents.
Trump signs new executive orders to aim for a sanctuary city
President Donald Trump has signed two new executive orders aimed at sanctuary cities and immigration enforcement.
- New York Governor Kathy Hochul told his deputies that he “need to draw a line” to enforce federal immigration laws, including overstaying visas.
- Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz said his neighbors were angry at the government.
- Trump could sign an enforcement order from the Department of Homeland Security, listing so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions and withholding federal funds.
WASHINGTON – Three Democratic governors are expected to tell Congress on June 12 that they will coordinate with federal immigration authorities who cannot afford the burden of banishing and detaining convicted criminals.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in testimony prepared for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee that the state has transferred more than 1,300 prisoners to immigration and customs enforcement since taking office in August 2021.
“But you need to draw a line somewhere,” Hochur said. “New York cannot represent state officers to enforce citizen immigration violations, such as overstaying visas.”
Trump, GOP condemns jurisdictions of “sanctuary” of obstruction
The hearing focuses on so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit state and local officials’ cooperation with federal immigration authorities. President Donald Trump could sign an executive order to list jurisdictions and cut off federal funds for them.
One of the witnesses, Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz, said his state does not approve sanctuary laws but respects the cities and counties it possesses.
The hearing is at the flash point in Los Angeles over federal immigration enforcement. Protesters against immigrants and customs enforcement raids burned burning cars, threw rocks and fired fireworks at authorities. But Trump claims he has strong border security and voting rights for massive deportation of undocumented immigrants.
Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom exchanged barbs on protests and the deployment of the President’s National Guard to protect federal buildings and agents. Trump called Newsom “severely incompetent.” Newsam, Democrats call the development “the act of a dictator.”
Committee Chairman James Commer has scheduled a hearing to highlight “reckless” governors oppose Trump’s stricter enforcement.
“The Trump administration is taking critical action to deport foreigners from our country for crime violations, but reckless sanctuaries like Illinois, Minnesota and New York are actively urging them to block federal immigration enforcement,” Comer said in a statement. “The governors of these states must explain why they prioritize the protection of criminally illegal aliens over the safety of US citizens.
New York immigrant arrest “A Living Hell”: Hochul
The three governors said a comprehensive immigration overhaul should be approved to avoid Congress tearing apart immigrant families in search of a better life.
Hochul, whose grandparents fled to the US to avoid starvation in Ireland, said most immigrants wanted to work. Since spring 2022, more than 220,000 immigrants have arrived in New York City, often fleeing violence and persecution in their own country.
However, Hochul cited the March 27 incident in which Ice Agent stormed a home at Sackett Port in upstate New York, and arrested his mother and three children while his father worked at a dairy farm.
“They were so-called collateral arrests and suddenly and unfairly thrown into hell, living in life,” Hochul said before the family was returned nearly two weeks later. “This is not the United States we want to be. We can maintain public safety without separating our children from our parents.”
Immigrants are used as “pawns” for political gain: Pretzker
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said that governors along the tropical border have sent over 50,000 migrants since August 2022 to be used as “pawns” in “an inhuman attempts to harness the crisis for political interests.”
Chicago, Cook County and other jurisdictions organized housing through shelters focusing on 25 immigrants, helping immigrants find jobs under the federal work permit program, Pretzker said.
“We remained true to the virtues of Lincoln’s land as other politicians tried to distort the truth and disrupt our nation,” Pretzker said.
Trump’s immigration policy is “cruel and falsely directed”: Waltz
Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz said his state will help ice in criminal cases, but some cities and counties have chosen not to devote time, resources or personnel to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security.
Walz, a Democratic candidate for vice president in 2024, condemned the Trump administration’s “cruel and misguided immigration policies.” Minnesotan is “angry that the federal government is snatching people up,” he adds, he is detaining them “without turning down legitimate procedures.”
Many of the immigrants detained are Americans who have legal status or comply with the promised law, Waltz said.
“It’s ridiculous to suggest that Minnesota, more than 1,500 miles from the southern border and 1,000 miles from the state that decides and implements border policies from lawmakers in Washington, D.C., is somehow responsible for the failed immigration enforcement,” Walz said. “Enforcement of federal immigration laws is not the role of state or local law enforcement.”
