Chicago mayor to be ‘held accountable’ for sanctuary policies in Capitol Hill hearing, GOP reps say

CHICAGO - Congressional Republicans on the House Oversight Committee produced a video previewing a hearing this week aimed at scrutinizing big city mayors, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and their immigration policies.

The video appears to be aimed at hyping up the hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, in which committee members are expected to question Johnson, alongside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Johnson to be ‘held accountable’

The subject will be their sanctuary city policies, which aim to limit local police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The mayors in the largely Democratic cities have pushed back against the Trump administration’s efforts to arrest large numbers of undocumented immigrants. ICE even announced "targeted operations" in Chicago back in January.

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It’s against that backdrop that Congressional Republicans are holding Wednesday’s hearing the video is essentially advertising. It’s titled, "BREAKING: Boston, Chicago, Denver, NYC Sanctuary Mayors to Be Held Publicly Accountable on March 5."

The video, which features dramatic music and quick editing, shows newspaper headlines and images of immigrants being arrested and, in some cases, accused of violent crimes in cities across the country.

One of the scenes included in the video showed Trump's border czar Tom Homan in Chicago during one of those "targeted operations" in a video released by television personality Dr. Phil. It then cut to a soundbite from Johnson in which he said Chicagoans were a "compassionate people."

Republicans in Congress have blasted leaders in cities like Chicago and argued that such sanctuary policies are illegal. They have even threatened to cut off federal funding to those cities.

"The pro-illegal alien mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City have implemented reckless, illegal policies that shield criminal aliens from federal immigration enforcement and endanger public safety," said Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Kentucky), in a statement. "Criminal alien predators should not be free to roam our communities. State and local governments that refuse to comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts should not receive a penny of federal funding."

RELATED: Chicago is considered a ‘sanctuary city,’ but what does that mean?

‘Playing on people’s fears’

When asked last week about how he would respond to questions at Wednesday’s hearing, Johnson said he’ll be responding to "individuals who don’t share our values."

He also touted the city’s response to the crisis of thousands of migrants being sent to Chicago, which stretched local resources as officials scrambled to quickly house and care for families seeking asylum. 

The city’s response divided residents and elected officials, some of whom criticized the Johnson administration’s handling of setting up temporary shelter space to house migrants.

Johnson admitted he wasn’t sure what to expect during Wednesday's hearing but repeatedly stressed the city’s values in responding to the many immigration-related issues that have arisen during his tenure.

"Our country is under attack from within our country," Johnson said. "There are individuals that are playing on people’s fears and living in this hyperbolic space that, quite frankly, is not healthy, and it’s unfortunate that we have an administration that is as incorrigible as it is, but we’re gonna hold to our values."