Heather Cherone | February 5, 2025, 2:37 pm

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday accepted an invitation from the Republican chairperson of the U.S. House Oversight Committee to testify about the city’s self-proclaimed status as a sanctuary city.

Johnson will appear March 5 alongside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, according to a statement from his office. All four are Democrats.

Johnson’s appearance is likely to represent a flashpoint in the ongoing battle with the GOP-controlled U.S House and the Trump administration, which is attempting to strip self-proclaimed sanctuary cities of all federal funding.

Johnson has repeatedly said Chicago will remain a welcoming city and Chicago police officers will continue to be prohibited from helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deport undocumented Chicagoans.

Johnson has blasted Trump’s efforts to launch the largest mass deportation in American history as “unconscionable and abhorrent.”

U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), the committee’s chair, also requested all documents and communications related to Chicago’s sanctuary status, including those between each city, non-governmental organizations and state officials. State law also prohibits law enforcement agents from assisting federal immigration agents.

“Sanctuary mayors have prioritized criminal illegal aliens over the American people,” Comer said in a statement posted to the social media platform X. “They owe Americans an explanation for their policies that jeopardize public safety and violate federal immigration law by releasing dangerous criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets. These reckless policies in Democrat-run cities and states across our nation have led to too many preventable tragedies. They also endanger ICE agents who are forced to take more difficult enforcement actions in jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Read More At WTTW Chicago