Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds rebuked Democratic mayors on Wednesday for seeming to be unaware of the specific amount of funds their cities have allocated toward illegal immigration.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu appeared for a House Oversight Committee hearing, during which Donalds took turns asking each mayor what their cities have spent. Two were able to provide numbers, while the other two appeared unable to do so, prompting Donalds to accuse them of being poor stewards of their cities.
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“How much did your city spend on illegal immigration? Do you have a round number?” Donalds asked Johnston.
Johnston asserted Denver spent about $79 million since 2022 “on all newcomers,” regardless of their immigration status.
Donalds then asked Johnson the same question.
“If you’re referring to the 2022 up to 2024 of the buses coming from Texas, roughly the same percentage of the state of Texas,” the Chicago mayor answered. “About 1% of our overall budget.”
Donalds asked for a more specific number but Johnson did not provide one, instead repeating his claim.
“That’s why you’re a failing mayor,” Donalds said as the mayor continued to keep repeating his claim.
“Mayor Johnson, I already asked you. You don’t have a hard number,” the congressman added. “And if you don’t have a hard number, you’re not running your city well.”
When Donalds asked Adams the same question, the mayor answered that his city has spent $6.9 billion on illegal immigration.
Wu told Donalds her city doesn’t “ask about immigration status” when the congressman asked her the identical query.
“Are you out of your mind?” Donalds asked in response.
He then asked Wu if she manages her budget, to which she answered affirmatively while touting her budgeting record.
“So to the city of Boston, just understand that your mayor does not care how much of your resources she has spent on people who are not citizens of the city of Boston,” Donalds said.
Earlier in the hearing, Wu and Johnson also could not explicitly tell Chairman James Comer whether they would hand over illegal immigrant criminals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a lawsuit against Chicago, Cook County and Illinois in February for their respective sanctuary policies. It also filed a lawsuit against New York for its laws limiting cooperation between local police and ICE agents.
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