By The American Tribune | Created at 2025-03-10 10:29:26 | Updated at 2025-03-10 14:32:53
4 hours ago
Speaking during a hearing on Wednesday, March 5, United States Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) sounded off on the four sanctuary city mayors who had been trotted out to testify on the policies of their cities and, while doing so and exposing how they are in violation of the law, said that they’d be going to jail.
As background, that explosion came during a full committee hearing conducted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The hearing was titled, “A Hearing with Sanctuary City Mayors,” and revolved around the mayors of Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Boston, all of which are sanctuary cities.
Those four mayors refused to retreat on or denounce the sanctuary policies of their cities, nor did they agree to follow the law and start sharing information with federal immigration officials, transfer criminal illegal immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, or otherwise aid in securing the border.
Republican members of Congress, presented during the hearing with the opportunity to get good soundbites attacking those sanctuary city politicians who were defending illegal immigration in front of the American people, raked them over the coals for endangering American communities and concluded that federal funding should be yanked away from sanctuary cities.
Rep. Biggs, for his part, took the opportunity to explain what is really going on and to note that, because they are in violation of federal law, they could face jail time for their sanctuary city policies, something that could, if the government takes action on it, lead to a dramatic shift in sanctuary cities getting away with violating federal law.
He said, speaking on the matter, that the sanctuary cities aren’t complying with ICE on removal detainers, saying, “Now, I know that all of you understand that a removal order is a civil order, and that means none of you and none of your agencies within your municipalities are communicating or passing over someone where there’s an ICE removal detainer.”
Continuing, he explained that they are, in not complying with those detainers, allowing those who are meant to be deported from America, often because of heinous crimes, to hide from ICE and remain in their cities. He said, “You’re allowing people who have a removal order, who had due process, you’re allowing them to stay in the country.”
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Next, the angry Republican congressman emphasized to the four sanctuary city mayors that, in not complying with that critical aspect of immigration enforcement law, they were in violation of federal law. He said, “You’re in violation of that, in violation of this law right here [Points to Law]. You are in violation of that law.”
Concluding, the congressman reminded them that, in violating the law, they were putting themselves at risk of criminal culpability and jail time. He said, bashing the four mayors in front of him, “And you’ve got to start realizing what your culpability is on that. And that’s really what we’re talking about here.” Watch Rep. Biggs here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
