Statement from ICIRR executive director Lawrence Benito on mayoral testimony on welcoming city policies in Washington, D.C.: 

“As Mayor Brandon Johnson and other mayors laid out clearly today, Welcoming City policies are a critical safeguard against federal overreach that protects the constitutional right of due process for immigrants, and helps keep our communities whole. Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, which advocates fought for and strengthened over the course of 40 years, is a sound, effective, and time-tested piece of policy that empowers our neighbors and helps to keep everyone safe. 

“Cynical and disingenuous MAGA-aligned Republicans in Congress staged today’s political theater in an attempt to distract from their own unpopular policy agenda, which includes cutting Medicaid and other critical federal programs to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. ICIRR and our allies will continue to defend Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance and other policies that recognize the basic dignity of all Illinois residents, and to resist further efforts to intimidate and harm our families and communities.”