The Chicago mayor said Mayor Brandon Johnson had “no defense” prior to Congress' testimony on sanctuary policies.
“As long as the mayor goes to DC, he's going to slaughter like a lamb,” Chicago's Alderman Anthony Napolitano told Fox News Digital.
“There's no answer to this,” a city councilman from Chicago's 41st district said of how city policies have affected residents. “We weren't supposed to be a sanctuary city in the first place. You're punishing it by using taxpayers to help illegals.”
Johnson, New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston will defend the city's sanctuary status before Wednesday's council.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson criticizes the ice management there. (Christopher Dilt/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service
Mayor Johnson: “We're going to retain our value.”
At a press conference last week, Johnson previewed his stance and highlighted his commitment to defending Chicago's policies.
“We retain our value. Whether we can convey a message in that particular room doesn't mean we're not going to stop conveying a message of hope,” he said. “I'm going to show up on March 5th, or I'm going to show up for the people of Chicago, as I've always done.”
On the city's website Johnson promotes “the city's 560,000 foreign-born residents.”
“Chicago has always been a welcoming city and will be the champion for the rights of immigrants and refugee communities,” he writes.
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Immigrants will be led from one bus to another after arriving at Union Station in Chicago on September 9, 2022 from Texas. (via Images via Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service)
Napolitano, a first-generation American, said that when illegals flooded Windy City, the policies of Chicago's sanctuary cities were tested.
“When we first became a sanctuary city, it was easy, and it was patting our administration on the back. [southern] The border is 1,450 miles away. But he said. But when they came, they came in large numbers up to 50,000-60,000 people – that hurt our infrastructure. ”
He shared that the city is not ready to provide free housing to tens of thousands of immigrants.
“Because of policies passed by progressives and socialists, they have hurt cities that are already facing an astronomical amount of crime here,” he said. “It made the offenders more of the victims and more of the victims.”
“They bring all these people here and promise a better way of life,” he said. “But they don't have a program set up for them.”
The protesters faced off against Chicago PD after the DNC violated a barrier outside the United Center in Chicago on Monday, August 19, 2024. (Fox News Digital)
The lack of programs has contributed to an increase in immigration-related crime, adding to the ongoing struggle against urban crime rates, Napolitano said.
“Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are back to crime and standing without doing anything looking for ways to support themselves and their families,” he said. “It happened in my own ward. We murdered a man by two illegal immigrants who killed him.”
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Police are struggling to attract and maintain officers to increase the city's compounding interest issues.
“When I became a Chicago police officer, I took the test in 1997. I received it with over 45,000 candidates. They are afraid to do this job now, so I can't get over 2,000 people to do this job or take the test,” he said.
Operation Lawn Star
In 2022, Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican of Texas, announced Operation Lone Star to immigrate buses to sanctuary cities around the country. Abbott said it was doing that to prevent Texas from taking on the “burden imposed by cross-border supporters in other parts of the country.”
In Abbott's controversial program, Texas has bused more than 102,000 immigrants into sanctuary cities across the country, and Chicago has received approximately 51,000 immigrants since August 2022.
Watch: Chicago residents are tired of spending on illegal immigration
In recent years, residents' frustration has not blew through city council meetings after elected leaders. Proposed tax increase This is because the city was working to spend more than $500 million on housing and feeding immigrants to deal with the city's budget deficit.
“Taxpayers are paying and funding this illegal immigration crisis,” Southside resident Daniel Carter previously told Fox News Digital. “So it's not fair to us because they're taking away our resources. They're spending taxes on people who have illegally crossed the border. I think anyone who comes here should be deported and returned legally.”
President Donald Trump will listen at a Cabinet meeting held at the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, February 26th, 2025. (Pool via AP)
Wednesday's Johnson hearing is likely to represent a flashpoint of the ongoing battle between the city and the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and the Trump administration.
The Trump administration receives about $4 billion a year from the federal government, with Chicago trying to remove all federal funds.
From left, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, New York Mayor Eric Adams and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will testify before Congress. (Getty/AP)
Kentucky Rep. James Kommer, chairman of the committee, accused all four mayors of prioritizing “illegal criminal aliens over Americans.”
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Fox News Digital has contacted Johnson's office for comment.
Joshua Nelson of Fox News contributed to this report.
