Democrat mayors refused to answer whether they would turn over illegal immigrant criminals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a hearing on Wednesday.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson would not explicitly answer Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer’s (R-KY) question.
“Would you turn this criminal over to ICE on a detainer?” Comer asked Johnson, to which the Chicago mayor replied by dodging the question, stating, “Our local law enforcement works hard every day to get criminals off the streets of Chicago.”
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“Would you turn that criminal over to ICE?” the congressman asked again.
“That’s the problem, that’s one of the topics of this conversation,” Comer continued. “That’s one of the problems we’ve heard from Tom Homan and from the Homeland Security, is that in your cities, when somebody’s apprehended for a crime and ICE is now, with this new federal policy, wanting to come in and deport the criminal alien, that you will not cooperate with ICE.”
“Will you turn that criminal over to ICE?” the congressman repeated.
Johnson replied by reiterating his initial answer, stating, “We do not harbor criminals. Our local police department works hard every single day to ensure that the city of Chicago is–”
“Yes or no?” Comer interrupted. “Will you turn the criminal over to ICE?”
The Chicago mayor, however, would not answer with a simple “yes” or “no,” and instead responded, “With a criminal warrant from the federal government, our local law enforcement repeatedly collaborates with federal agents.”
“So, you’re saying publicly today, you will turn that alien over to ICE in a safe place, like a jail, and not turn them out on the street and say, ‘Here you go, ICE, good luck’? You will turn that criminal over to ICE?” Comer asked.
Johnson answered by repeating himself, stating, “With a criminal warrant, as we have done for 40 years–” before the congressman interjected, asking again, “Should that criminal be turned over to ICE?”
“With a criminal warrant, they are subject to the federal laws, and that includes deportation,” Johnson said.
Comer, whose time had expired by then, stated, “We have heard reports, and many of you have said publicly, that you are going to obstruct [the federal government]. That is against the law.”
At another moment during the hearing, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu also refused to answer whether her city would cooperate with the federal government.
“Last year, in a Boston suburb, an illegal alien raped and impregnated his 14-year-old daughter while living in a shelter for illegal aliens,” Comer said, before asking, “Mayor Wu, under Boston law, would you turn this criminal over to ICE on a detainer?”
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The Boston mayor also responded by dodging the question, stating, “Whenever there’s a criminal warrant, Boston police enforce that and hold them accountable.”
“So would you turn that criminal over to ICE?” the congressman repeated.
Wu replied, “This happened outside the city of Boston, but I can tell you in the city, whenever somebody commits a crime, whenever there’s a criminal warrant, we hold them accountable. If ICE deems them dangerous enough to hold, obtain a criminal warrant, then Boston police will enforce it.”
“Will you turn that criminal over to ICE?” Comer asked again, to which the Boston mayor replied, “We follow the laws and make sure that everyone–”
“I take that as a ‘no,’” Comer interrupted.
As Breitbart News reported, border czar Tom Homan slammed Massachusetts’ policy on illegal immigration and sanctuary cities during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last month, proclaiming, “I’m coming to Boston and I’m bringing hell with me.”
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Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
