New: Sanctuary City Mayors in Hot Seat As House Oversight Committee's James Comer Makes His Next Move

Not surprisingly, tackling the myriad illegal immigration issues he inherited from Joe Biden has been one of the top priorities of President Donald Trump upon returning to office for his second term.

Already, Trump's executive orders and other directives have ushered forth, among other things, changes in official terminology (bye-bye, "undocumented noncitizen"), as well as the arrival of the U.S. military at the southern border.

Further, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has partnered up with related federal agencies in rounding up criminal elements across the country. Along with that, repatriation flights full of illegal immigrants are also underway.

Not surprisingly, blue city mayors are crying foul, especially those from so-called sanctuary cities where elected officials admittedly breaking the law in the name of "inclusiveness" and woke has oftentimes resulted in tragic outcomes.

But as it turns out, these mayors have something else to be worried about: the long arm of the House Oversight Committee which, under the direction of its Chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), has called on four of them to testify next month.

Comer posted this message Monday on his Twitter/X page:

I am launching a @GOPoversight investigation into sanctuary cities across the United States and their impact on public safety. I’m calling on the Mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City to testify publicly at an oversight hearing on February 11, 2025.
These sanctuary cities have refused to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and U.S. immigration laws.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump took decisive actions to restore the rule of law. It is now imperative that our immigration laws are enforced across the country and that criminal aliens are swiftly removed from our communities.

The mayors who were invited to testify were Chicago's Brandon Johnson, Boston's Michelle Wu, New York City's Eric Adams, and Denver's Mike Johnston.

In his letter to all four mayors, Comer indicated that the goal of the hearings was to assess if new legislation would be needed:

In addition to the efforts of the Trump Administration to ensure federal immigration enforcement can proceed unimpeded, Congress must determine whether further legislation is necessary to enhance border security and public safety. It is imperative that federal immigration law is enforced and that criminal aliens are swiftly removed from our communities.

The full letters can be read here. Partial versions were posted to Twitter/X as well:

🚨BREAKING🚨

Chairman James Comer Calls on Sanctuary City Mayors to Testify

Today, Chairman Comer (@repjamescomer) calls on the mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City to testify at an upcoming committee hearing. All four major cities are sanctuary jurisdictions… pic.twitter.com/0tKwpDvCJv
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) January 27, 2025

Comer's investigation follows a memo from the Dept. of Justice that noted "Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests." It also indicated that the "U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Dept. of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.”

In response to that memo, Johnson stated "We are not going to be intimidated by those acts of terror to radically shift our way of living" and that "We are going to hold to our values."

It remains to be seen as to whether any of the invitees take Comer up on his invitation. As always, we'll keep you posted on developments.