House Republicans clashed with three Democratic governors over immigration policies during a testy hearing Thursday that served as a broader forum for one of President Donald Trump’s landmark issues amid the breakout of anti-deportation protests in California and around the country.
Over the course of an hourslong hearing convened by the House Oversight Committee on so-called sanctuary state policies, Republican lawmakers repeatedly accused those three blue-state leaders — Govs. Kathy Hochul of New York, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Tim Walz of Minnesota — of bearing responsibility for the deaths and abuse of people who were killed or assaulted by immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally.
The three governors defended themselves, frequently and forcefully pointing out that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility — not a state one — and at times suggested that Republicans on the panel were creating a political spectacle to impress Trump.
House Democrats led the criticism of Trump directly, with some calling him a “gangster” or a “dictator” and others lambasting his decision to deploy National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles to maintain control of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
Conservatives have said sanctuary laws refer to policies that prevent local authorities from being compelled to participate in federal immigration enforcement. Trump has in his second term signed multiple executive orders that target such cities and states, including one that withholds federal funds.
The hearing got off to a hostile start, with Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the panel’s chair, kicking off his opening statement by declaring that the three governors — as well as other Democratic leaders — were running “sanctuary cities and states” that were “siding with illegal aliens.”
Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., the ranking Democrat on the committee, hit back in his own opening statement by comparing several recent ICE actions to moves conducted by the “Gestapo” — referring to the secret police in Nazi Germany.
During a particularly tense exchange, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., asked Hochul, “Do you go along with the strategy from the Biden administration, which massively expanded immigration protocols that overwhelmed your city and overwhelmed your state?”
“We call for secure borders,” Hochul interjected, prompting Donalds to retort, “I never remember you calling for secure borders at all, governor.”
“You’re putting a federal problem on our laps. And know what? It gets old after a while,” Hochul responded. “I wish you would just do your job.”
At one point, Walz attempted to take a more conciliatory tone, while also pointing out that immigration enforcement remains a federal duty.
“No one here wants to hear these horrific stories. But we have a job to do on limited resources,” Walz said. He added that it was a mistake for Republicans to say “that not doing ICE’s job means we’re not cooperating.”
“Nothing we do precludes them from doing their job,” Walz said. “We have the responsibility of the American public to work together, and I think threatening arrests on elected officials … doesn’t help any of us.” (Trump has suggested he would support the arrest of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.)
The hearing also featured numerous distinctly political moments.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who is considering a run for governor of New York, is not a member of the committee, but Comer allowed several lawmakers to join in on the questioning. Stefanik used the opportunity to attack Hochul, repeatedly bringing up instances of undocumented immigrants committing crimes in the state, saying that they were emblematic of “Kathy Hochul’s New York.”
“No amount of words is going to clean up your failed record, and these horrific crimes committed in the sanctuary state that you created,” Stefanik said.
In what at times resembled potential campaign messaging, Stefanik said, “We deserve a governor who stands up for law-abiding New Yorkers, who doesn’t put illegals first, but actually puts New Yorkers first.” Hochul hit back by saying that Stefanik was simply “going after the viral moment.”
It was just one of several examples where a questioner on Thursday’s panel was running for higher office. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., is running for U.S. Senate, for example, while Donalds, as well as Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., are both running for governor in their states next year.
In addition, Walz and Pritzker are viewed as potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates. Both in recent weeks have taken steps to limit government-funded health care coverage for undocumented immigrants, a potential move to the right on the broader issue of immigration.
The latter half of the hearing featured numerous Democrats seeking to introduce reports for the record documenting the forcible removal of Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., from a news conference in Los Angeles after he tried to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., repeatedly pressed Comer and other Republicans to commit to subpoenaing Noem.
“Just shut up,” Comer replied, after moments of back-and-forth yelling. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said “Democrats can’t follow the rules, can’t follow the law” as Frost continued to demand Comer’s attention. The hearing took a brief recess after that.
Earlier, the hearing veered off track numerous times, with Republicans using the stage to pepper the governors with questions on topics that GOP lawmakers are currently investigating or that are popular with their conservative base.
At one point, Comer asked Walz if he’d ever asked former Vice President Kamala Harris about former President Joe Biden’s “cognitive decline.”
Walz, who ran on the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket with Harris, replied he had not, triggering Comer to press harder.
At another point, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas., asked Pritzker about whether he thought that “biological men should be able to use women’s restrooms.”
Prtizker eventually replied, “so you’re admitting that this is just a political circus.”
The three Democratic governors also slammed Trump for calling up the National Guard to respond to the protests in California, expressing concern that the move could be replicated in other states.
Pritzker said that, “When the president of the United States is calling up your National Guard over the top of local law enforcement, saying that they don’t need it, that they have things under control, it tends to have an inflaming effect on what’s going on on the ground.”
Hochul, for her part, said Trump’s actions “absolutely undermine the sovereignty of individual states.”
“Undermining confidence in local law enforcement — you’re basically saying that there’s not a belief that the highly trained individuals of our municipal police departments … can handle their jobs,” she said. “This is an overreach of epic proportions.”
