Mayor Adams fends off Democrats' attacks in House hearing on sanctuary cities

The mayor was joined by three other Democratic mayors as witnesses at a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday morning.

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Mayor Eric Adams walked a tightrope Wednesday in testimony at a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing on sanctuary cities, lauding the contributions of immigrants in New York City while voicing support for the deportation of undocumented immigrants who break criminal laws.

“ I'm committed to working with federal officials to give, to go after violent gangs and those who harm residents of our city,” Adams told the Republican-controlled committee.

His comments came during a hearing which largely played out along party lines, with Democratic lawmakers chiding Republicans for blocking bipartisan immigration reform and border security measures, and Republicans accusing Democrats of harboring criminal immigrants in sanctuary cities.

But Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat from Long Beach, California, alleged that Adams was “selling New Yorkers out” by pledging to aid the Trump administration conduct what it has called the largest “mass deportation” in the nation’s history. Garcia also called on Adams to resign, after linking the mayor's bid to dismiss the federal corruption charges against him with Adams' vocal support for President Donald Trump's deportation plans.

“No quid pro quo. No agreement,” Adams said, once again denying any impropriety. “I did nothing wrong but serve the people of New York City.”

Three other Democratic mayors testified before the panel: Michelle Wu of Boston, Mike Johnston of Denver and Brandon Johnson of Chicago. Republican representatives pressed each of them over city and state sanctuary protections in their jurisdictions, which those mayors largely defended as lawful and practical.

Adams was mainly spared harsh treatment by the Republicans — a dynamic that illustrated how estranged Adams has become from members of his own party, who have accused him of cooperating with Trump’s immigration crackdown in hopes of getting his federal corruption charges dropped.

Committee Chair James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, thanked Adams for his willingness to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Rep. Gary Palmer, a Republican from Alabama, came to Adams’ defense, saying the mayor was "being attacked because he's agreed to cooperate with federal officials to uphold the laws of the United States."

Adams’ appearance comes weeks after after acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove III ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the corruption charges against Adams. Bove wrote in a letter that the case impeded Adams’ ability to carry out Trump’s immigration agenda.

Manhattan’s top prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, resigned in response to the Justice Department's order. In her resignation letter, she wrote that Adams’ attorneys had “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo.”

Adams on Wednesday touted his career as a former NYPD officer and New York City's reductions in crime as a contrast to the image of lawless sanctuary cities that Comer and other Republican committee members painted. The mayor said it was important that undocumented immigrants continue to send their children to school, go to the hospital and report crimes.

But he diverged from his fellow Democratic mayors when he promoted the city’s cooperation in federal immigration enforcement efforts. Adams said more than 70 NYPD officers were assigned to task forces with Homeland Security Investigations, housed within the Department of Homeland Security, which also oversees ICE.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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