Brandon Johnson

Brandon Johnson asked to testify at Congressional hearing on ‘sanctuary cities'

Johnson and three other U.S. mayors were asked to testify before the committee

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As immigration enforcement operations take place in Chicago, Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern talked to local leaders for their reactions.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has been asked to testify before a Congressional committee on the city’s “sanctuary city” policies.

According to a letter from Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Johnson is one of four mayors being asked to testify about policies that limit local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement actions.

The mayors of Boston, Denver and New York were given similar letters and requests to appear before the committee, according to Comer.

In addition to asking for Johnson to testify before the committee on Tuesday, Feb. 11, the committee also requested “documents and information related to the sanctuary policies of Chicago.”

Those documents include communications between city employees, contractors and state of Illinois employees pertaining to immigration policies.

It is unknown whether Johnson will appear before Congress, but he is expected to address media on Tuesday along with Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling concerning the enhanced immigration enforcement efforts in the city since President Donald Trump took office last week.

The city of Chicago passed its "Welcoming City Ordinance" in 2012, guaranteeing access to city services regardless of immigration status and preventing undocumented residents from being prosecuted solely because of their immigration status. Finally, it also prohibits police from arresting individuals based on immigration status, and limits the circumstances in which immigration status information can be shared between local police and federal law enforcement.

A sanctuary city is a city that limits its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agents in order to prevent undocumented immigrants from deportation.

Comer criticized Chicago for what he called “an abject failure to comply with federal” immigration law, with those policies taking center stage amid a surge in immigration enforcement actions in multiple states across the U.S.

Multiple Trump administration officials, including “border czar” Tom Homan, were in Chicago this weekend overseeing “enhanced targeted operations” within the city, resulting in numerous arrests around the area.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with federal partners, including the FBI, ATF, DEA, CBP and the U.S. Marshals Service, began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in Chicago to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities,” ICE said in the statement Sunday.

Across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say nearly 1,200 undocumented immigrants were arrested on Sunday alone, approximately half of whom had prior criminal records.

While Johnson will address the actions on Tuesday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker did so during a CNN appearance Sunday morning. He promised to cooperate with federal agents seeking to detain individuals accused or convicted of violent crimes, but questioned efforts to detain non-violent individuals or those without criminal records.

“They’re going after people who are law-abiding, who have families here, who have jobs and may have been here for decades. Why are you going after them? These are not people who are causing problems in our country,” he said.

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