(The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to join other Democratic governors to defend their states’ sanctuary policies before Congress.
Earlier this year, House Oversight Committee Chair U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, called on Pritzker and the governors of Minnesota and New York to appear at a June 12 hearing.
“The theory is that they are having this hearing because they like to learn more about what we’re doing in the state,” said Pritzker. “I think there may be members on that committee who are simply there for a dog-and-pony show who simply want to grandstand in front of the cameras. I hope not, that is inappropriate.”
The hearing comes as tensions have risen since President Donald Trump mobilized the National Guard to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE operations in Los Angeles.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a statement in support of a lawsuit California’s attorney general filed against Trump, the Department of Defense and Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in response to their orders to federalize the California National Guard.
“I stand in solidarity with my colleague Attorney General Rob Bonta regarding his legal challenge to Donald Trump’s unprecedented order directing the National Guard to respond to lawful protesters. The administration’s actions to federalize the National Guard are inappropriate and have escalated circumstances unnecessarily in Los Angeles,” said Raoul.
Congress has been on a mission to expose sanctuary cities and states and the consequences of harboring illegal aliens. During a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement hearing in April, Danielle Carter-Walters, vice president of the group Chicago Flips Red, said spending on illegal immigrants is out of control.
“We demand a full forensic audit focused on migrant-related spending,” said Carter-Walters. “This isn’t mismanagement, it’s organized looting of taxpayer dollars.”
Last March, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson joined the mayors of Denver, Boston and New York City to defend their cities against claims that they are harboring dangerous immigrants and violating immigration laws.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in February against Illinois and the city of Chicago alleging the state interferes with federal immigration enforcement by violating the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Professor Anthony Fowler from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy is interested in how Pritzker might navigate the testimony amid broad speculation that he is considering a run for the White House.
“If Pritzker takes a hairline position, there is a risk that he could alienate a lot of moderates, even in Illinois. Majorities of Americans think something is wrong with our immigration system, and this was one of the winning issues for Trump in 2024, so Republicans in Congress will be looking to embarrass Pritzker and score political points,” Fowler said.
