Democratic governors defend sanctuary policies before Congress

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Democratic governors of Illinois, Minnesota and New York defended their states' immigration policies on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Kathy Hochul of New York faced tough questions from the House Oversight Committee about their states’ so-called sanctuary policies, which generally limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer began the hearing by introducing the family of a young woman killed in a hit-and-run traffic crash in Illinois, suggesting its sanctuary policies had facilitated the illegal presence of the driver of the other vehicle.

“Sanctuary polices do not protect Americans, they protect criminal illegal aliens,” Comer said.

Walz, the first to testify, pushed back on the premise of the hearing and rejected the assertion that Minnesota is a sanctuary state.  It has no statewide law protecting immigrants in the U.S. illegally from deportation. However, Minneapolis and St. Paul both restrict the extent to which police and city employees can cooperate with immigration enforcement.

“Enforcing immigration law is not the role of local and state governments,” Walz said.

Hochul emphasized the burden states like New York are facing due to what she called a “broken border," but the state has cooperated with federal immigration authorities when people are convicted of or under investigation for crimes. 

Since she took office in 2021, Hochul said the state has initiated the transfer of more than 1,300 incarcerated noncitizens to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the completion of their state sentences.

"What we don't do is civil immigration enforcement; that's the federal government's job," she said. "States like mine are doing our part, but we can't be expected to fix the broken immigration system."

Pritzker said that violent criminals “have no place on our streets, and if they are undocumented, I want them out of Illinois and out of our country.”

The hearing came as protests against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown have escalated nationwide this week, including in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City, where police arrested more than 80 people in one night earlier this week.

Pritzker reinforced that Illinois complies with the law but expects the federal government to do the same.

"It's wrong to deploy the National Guard and active duty Marines into an American city over the objection of local law enforcement just to inflame a situation and create a crisis," Pritzker said.

The hearing also comes on the heels of a letter signed by the governors, condemning Trump’s use of California’s National Guard for immigration enforcement, calling it an “abuse of power.”

“As we speak, an American city has been militarized over the objections of their governor,” Hochul told lawmakers. “At the outset, I just want to say that this is a flagrant abuse of power.”

Republicans accuse sanctuary cities of 'shielding' migrants

Republican Congress members clashed repeatedly with the Democratic governors, often recounting descriptions of violent crimes allegedly committed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally who were not previously detained by local police. One of the most fiery exchanges came between Hochul and Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has been named as a potential 2026 gubernatorial candidate in New York.

“You are not advocating on behalf of these victims, you are shielding illegals,” Stefanik said to Hochul while interrupting the governor's attempted responses.

Hochul said the crimes were “horrific” and “heartbreaking” and insisted “we cooperate with ICE; we cooperate with law enforcement” in criminal cases.

Republicans have criticized sanctuary policies, arguing they allow migrants with criminal records to avoid deportation.

In a social media post Wednesday, Republican lawmakers accused the governors of "shielding CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, then pretending the consequences don't exist."

The post included footage of immigrants being arrested and past remarks by the governors defending their immigration stances.

The broader sanctuary cities debate

Sanctuary policies drew attention under former President Joe Biden, as cities such as New York and Chicago faced record surges of migrants and overwhelming demand at local shelters and services.

While Trump campaigned on ending sanctuary jurisdictions, earlier this year, a federal judge blocked efforts by his administration to withhold federal funds from those who declined to cooperate with his immigration agenda.

Supporters of sanctuary policies argue they help build trust between immigrant communities and local governments. They say cooperating with immigration officials could discourage victims and witnesses from coming forward.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.