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Governors defend state immigration policies as GOP lawmakers press ‘sanctuary’ claims
Summary
Governors of Minnesota, Illinois and New York told the House Oversight Committee that states must balance public safety with constitutional limits on state enforcement of federal immigration law, while Republicans faulted their policies for enabling crimes and straining local budgets.
The House Oversight Committee heard sharply divided testimony Tuesday over state “sanctuary” policies and cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, with Republican members pressing three governors and witnesses for sharper state cooperation and Democrats warning against federal overreach.
Committee Chairman James Comer opened the hearing by saying, "Sanctuary policies do not protect Americans. They protect criminal illegal aliens," and called governors Tim Walz (Minn.), J.B. Pritzker (Ill.) and Kathy Hochul (N.Y.) to explain why their states decline routine use of local resources for civil immigration enforcement.
The governors strongly rejected the label “sanctuary state” as applied to their jurisdictions and framed their positions around constitutional limits and public-safety priorities. "Minnesota is not even a sanctuary state," Gov. Walz said, describing how state law requires cooperation with federal authorities when…
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