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A Democratic congressman criticized Chicago’s stance during a response to the Department of Justice’s legal action against the city over policies hindering immigration officers from detaining undocumented criminals.
During a Thursday NewsNation interview, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who represents a Texas border district, expressed support for the lawsuit targeting Chicago’s sanctuary policies that limit cooperation between local law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“It’s common sense,” Cuellar said Thursday during a NewsNation interview. “Look, I don’t support sanctuary cities.”
“We don’t have any sanctuary cities along the border because we want to make sure that we have law and order, that if anybody wants to come into the United States, they do it the legal way like my parents did, and it’s important,” Cuellar continued. “So, no, I don’t support any sanctuary cities and I think I’ve even voted to cut funding for sanctuary city policies.”
Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democratic lawmaker representing a district along the U.S.-Mexico border, during a Thursday interview appeared supportive of a lawsuit against Chicago for its sanctuary policies restricting cooperation between local police… https://t.co/rGAqIWTatD
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The DOJ filed the lawsuit Thursday challenging laws in Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois that restrict ICE agents’ interactions with local and state officials, hampering their ability to apprehend undocumented criminals. The Trump administration contends these laws violate the Constitution by interfering with federal immigration enforcement.
“Who’s against arresting criminals?” Cuellar asked. “So, again, with all due respect to that area, and it should not be a Democratic or a Republican question, it should be, should we enforce the law and the law says that if we have criminals, criminal aliens, they should be picked up.”
As the Trump administration launches a comprehensive deportation operation, it’s intensifying its opposition to sanctuary jurisdictions. Despite Trump’s election victory on a strict border enforcement platform, numerous Democrat-led cities have maintained or strengthened their sanctuary status.
Beyond the Illinois lawsuit, the administration recently moved to withhold DOJ funds from sanctuary jurisdictions nationwide. Attorney General Bondi has also directed the DOJ to pursue potential enforcement actions against jurisdictions obstructing federal immigration operations.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, among four mayors under congressional investigation for sanctuary policies, has agreed to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on March 5.
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We must lead & be forceful.
We must GET THE JOB DONE. pic.twitter.com/8RCFR7Gmfy— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) February 5, 2025
Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez, who sought to modify the city’s law, shares Cuellar’s opposition. Lopez indicated that Latino residents particularly oppose policies protecting criminal migrants.
“I think that is what helped fuel the anger within the Latino community, specifically the Mexican American voting block, because they saw that as a slap in the face to all of their trials and tribulations, especially those that know or have relatives or friends who are still struggling for a path and were completely forgotten by the Democratic Party in order to make way for the migrant asylum seekers,” Lopez previously said to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, previously supportive of sanctuary cities, has shifted his stance, now advocating for local Democrats to assist ICE in apprehending criminal undocumented immigrants rather than protecting them.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also under House Oversight investigation, has expressed opposition to his city’s sanctuary laws while citing limitations in effecting change due to a progressive city council firmly supporting these policies.
