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

Mayor Eric Adams walked a tightrope on Wednesday during his testimony at a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing on sanctuary cities, lauding immigrants' contributions to 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 that largely played out along party lines, with Democratic lawmakers chiding Republicans for blocking bipartisan immigration reform and border security measures in prior years, and Republicans accusing Democrats of harboring criminal immigrants in sanctuary cities. But Adams also faced attacks from fellow Democrats.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from Queens, questioned Adams about his attorneys' discussions with the Department of Justice over his federal corruption case. Ocasio-Cortez, a frequent critic of the mayor, has called for him to step down amid his escalating crisis.

“This is the four-alarm fire that everyone must be paying attention to,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to an alleged quid-pro-quo deal in which the mayor would carry out Trump’s immigration agenda in exchange for the dropping of the corruption charges against him. “What other city, what other individual, what other municipality leader can be next?”

Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat from Long Beach, California, alleged that Adams was “selling New Yorkers out” by pledging to aid the Trump administration in conducting what it has called the largest “mass deportation” in the nation’s history. Garcia and Rep. Laura Gillen, a fellow Democrat from Long Island, also called on Adams to resign, after linking Adams' bid to dismiss the federal corruption charges against him with his 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.”

Adams repeated a similar refrain in response to jabs by multiple Democrats, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Jasmine Crockett of Texas, who also inquired about an alleged quid pro quo.

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 from harsh treatment by the Republicans — a dynamic that illustrated how estranged Adams has become from fellow Democrats.

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."

Rep. William Timmons, a Republican from South Carolina, applauded Adams, saying he was "the only one (of the mayors) that stood up to the previous (Biden) administration," which Republican committee members roundly criticized for maintaining "open borders" policies.

In a social media post, Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan also defended Adams against Garcia's attacks, which he called "simply disgusting."

"Mayor Adams is trying to protect New Yorkers from illegal aliens," Homan said in a post on X. "By working with ICE, lives will be saved.”

Adams’ appearance comes weeks after acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove 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 Department of Justice's order. In her resignation letter, referenced by Ocasio-Cortez during the hearing, Sassoon wrote that Adams’ attorneys had “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo.”

Adams repeatedly refused to answer questions surrounding his federal corruption case. He stonewalled Ocasio-Cortez’s inquiries about an alleged meeting between his attorneys and federal prosecutors. He also dodged questions from Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a Virginia Democrat, on whether he spoke to members of the Trump administration about his legal case, responding only by saying that Judge Dale Ho would determine the outcome.

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 painted by Comer and other Republican committee members. 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.

Elizabeth Kim contributed reporting.