Former Vice-Presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota is one of three Democrat governors who will testify before Congress next month about their sanctuary policies and their accountability to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Walz will testify before the House Oversight Committee on June 12, Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced Tuesday.
“The Trump Administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement,” Comer in a statement. “The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable.”
Comer called all three to appear in a letter sent April 10. Comer’s original date for the hearing was May 15.
Trump last week signed an executive order that, in part, directed the Office of Management and Budget to “identify appropriate Federal funds to sanctuary jurisdictions, including grants and contracts, for suspension or termination, as appropriate.”
“No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims. They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World. Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!” Trump said in the release.
The committee is expected to drill down on Illinois’ TRUST Act of 2017, which prohibits state law enforcement from detaining or continuing to detain individuals on the basis of immigration detainers or administrative warrants for removable aliens.
In Comer’s letter to Walz, he asserts Minnesota “is a sanctuary jurisdiction under an erroneous interpretation of law,” thanks to state Attorney General Keith Ellison’s legal opinion stating that holding an illegal alien pursuant to an ICE detainer request would constitute an unreasonable “seizure” under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Regarding Hochul, Republicans are expected to address Executive Order No. 170, signed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which directs that “[n]o State officers or employees, including law enforcement officers, shall disclose information to federal immigration authorities for the purpose of federal civil immigration enforcement, unless required by law.”
The Oversight panel held a hearing with four sanctuary mayors in March: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu; Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson; Denver Mayor Mike Johnston; and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
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