Walz, Hochul, Pritzker to criticize immigration enforcement in House hearing
WASHINGTON – Three Democratic governors are expected to tell Congress in a June 12 hearing that they coordinate with federal immigration authorities to deport convicted criminals but can't afford to shoulder the burden of tracking down and detaining undocumented immigrants.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in testimony prepared for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee the state transferred more than 1,300 convicts to Immigration and Customs Enforcement since she took office in August 2021.
'But we have to draw a line somewhere,' Hochul said. 'New York cannot deputize our state officers to enforce civil immigration violations, such as overstaying a visa.'
The hearing focuses on so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions where state and local officials restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to list the jurisdictions and potentially cut off federal funding to them.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, one of the witnesses, said his state hasn't approved sanctuary legislation but that it respects cities and counties that have.
The hearing comes at a flashpoint in Los Angeles over federal immigration enforcement. Protesters against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids burned cars, threw rocks and shot fireworks at authorities. But Trump contends he has an electoral mandate for strong border security and mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have exchanged barbs about the protests and the president's deployment of the National Guard to protect federal buildings and agents. Trump called Newsom 'grossly incompetent.' Newsom, a Democrat, called the deployment the 'acts of a dictator.'
The committee chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., scheduled the hearing to highlight 'reckless' governors opposing Trump's tougher enforcement.
'The Trump Administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement,' Comer said in a statement. 'The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable.'
The three governors said Congress needs to approve a comprehensive immigration overhaul to avoid tearing apart families of immigrants in search of a better life.
Hochul, whose grandparents fled to the U.S. to avoid starvation in Ireland, said most immigrants want to work. Since spring 2022, more than 220,000 immigrants have arrived in New York City, often fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries, she said.
But Hochul cited a March 27 case when ICE agents stormed a home in Sackets Harbor, in upstate New York, and arrested a mother and three children while the father was working at a dairy farm.
'They were so-called collateral arrests, suddenly and unjustly cast into a living hell,' Hochul said, before the family was returned after nearly two weeks. 'This is not the America we want to be. We can maintain public safety without tearing children away from their parents.'
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said governors along the southern border have sent more than 50,000 immigrants since August 2022 to be used as 'pawns' in a 'dehumanizing attempt to leverage the crisis for political gain.'
Chicago, Cook County and other jurisdictions organized housing through 25 immigrant-focused shelters and helped immigrants find jobs under federal work-authorization programs, Pritzker said.
'At a time when other politicians attempted to distort the truth and disrupt our state, we stayed true to the virtues of the Land of Lincoln,' Pritzker said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said his state helps ICE with criminal cases but that some cities and counties choose not to dedicate time, resources or personnel to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security.
Walz, who was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024, blasted the Trump administration's 'cruel and misguided immigration policies.' Minnesotans are 'angry that the federal government has been snatching people up' and detaining them 'without a shred of due process,' he added.
Many of the immigrants who have been detained are law-abiding Americans who have or were promised legal status, Walz said.
'It is ridiculous to suggest that Minnesota – a state that is over 1,500 miles away from the southern border and, and 1,000 miles from lawmakers in Washington, D.C. who decide and implement border policy – is somehow responsible for a failure of immigration enforcement,' Walz said. 'Enforcing federal immigration law is not the role of state or local law enforcement.'
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democratic governors spar with House GOP over immigration enforcement
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