Chicago officials divided after Johnson testifies on sanctuary policies

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson joined mayors from Boston, Denver, and New York to testify before Congress on Wednesday about the city’s sanctuary policies, sparking reactions from local officials.

The House Oversight Committee hearing, which wrapped up around 3 p.m., saw federal lawmakers criticize the mayors and push for penalties targeting sanctuary city policies in line with President Donald Trump's immigration stance.

What they're saying:

Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who lost the Democratic mayoral primary to Johnson in 2023, spoke with FOX 32 after the hearing.

"Truly it was an embarrassing display on the part of the Republican members of the committee and then those who were waived in. I was particularly struck by the disingenuousness of their comments, their attacks," said Lightfoot. "…what we heard today was a lot of lies, a lot of distortion to the truth. Unwillingness to accept facts given to them by the mayors of the very cities that they're attacking. It was an embarrassing display of the worst of government in my view."

Lightfoot added that she believed the mayors "held up pretty well" and "restrained themselves" against the federal legislators. She also noted that she had worked with Johnson to prepare for the testimony.

"Not surprisingly, the lawyer in me approached it like I was preparing a witness. One of the pieces of advice, of course, is not taking the bait. Leaning into the reasons why, what they want to do in deputizing local police departments. It really is going to make our city less safe and welcoming collaboration. But the biggest thing that they can collaborate on is actually having common sense immigration reform, common sense gun reform, stopping the flow of illegal guns into our city. None of the things that they actually want to do," Lightfoot said.

"Let's not be fooled by what happened today. This was an attempt on a part of the Republicans in the House to distract from the reality of what they're actually doing. They're proposing things that are deeply, deeply unpopular with the American public," Lightfoot added. "Dismantling a federal government is going to have a ripple effect across the country…"

Garry McCarthy, former superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, also shared his thoughts on Johnson's testimony.

"Mayor Johnson is going through a tough run and I've got to tell you, I've known a lot of major city mayors and he's not at the top of the list," McCarthy said. "I've never met a mayor who cannot have a conversation without bringing up Black and brown people as a talking point. And then he takes resources away from those neighborhoods, like ShotSpotter."

"I am so confused by American politics today. I think President Trump's presentation style is difficult to hang on to. But at the end of the day, I think that the policies of closing an open border, where of course it's very personal to me in the fact that I lost my daughter to fentanyl back in 2022. I don't know if she would be alive today, but I know that she's not and the border was open," McCarthy said.

"…We have to do everything we can to prosecute, detain, deport criminals," McCarthy added.

More Reaction :

Lawrence Benito, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, defended the city's Welcoming City policies.

"As Mayor Brandon Johnson and other mayors laid out clearly today, Welcoming City policies are a critical safeguard against federal overreach. They protect the constitutional right of due process for immigrants, and help keep our communities whole. Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, which advocates fought for and strengthened over the course of 40 years, is a sound, effective, and time-tested piece of policy that empowers our neighbors and helps to keep everyone safe.

"Cynical and disingenuous MAGA-aligned Republicans in Congress staged today’s political theater in an attempt to distract from their own unpopular policy agenda, which includes cutting Medicaid and other critical federal programs to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. ICIRR and our allies will continue to defend Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance and other policies that recognize the basic dignity of all Illinois residents, and to resist further efforts to intimidate and harm our families and communities," Benito said.

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