Live Updates: Congress to Grill Big-City Mayors on Migrant Policies
Mayor Brandon Johnson has plenty of problems at home in Chicago. Municipal finances are tight. Voters rejected his plan to use new tax revenue to address the growing homeless population. Contract negotiations with the teachers’ union, Mr. Johnson’s longtime employer, have exposed divisions on the City Council.
But those debates have been primarily with his fellow Democrats. As Mr. Johnson heads to Washington, he will engage with Republicans on an issue that may pose a larger political threat to himself and the government he leads.
For years, Republicans have singled out Chicago, the nation’s third most populous city, as an avatar for all that ails urban America. Chief among their grievances is a city ordinance that blocks cooperation on immigration enforcement.
Shortly after Mr. Trump took office, the Justice Department sued Mr. Johnson over Chicago’s immigration policies and also said it could prosecute local officials who prosecutors believed were impeding the work of immigration officers.
During Mr. Johnson’s nearly two-year tenure, Chicago has struggled to manage the influx of migrants, many of whom camped outside police stations or slept on airport floors after being bused north by Texas conservatives. Though the flow of new arrivals has slowed considerably, the local politics may have shifted. Some Chicagoans protested plans to open new shelters in their neighborhoods, and a handful of City Council members tried, but failed, to roll back the ordinance limiting cooperation with immigration officials.
Through it all, Mr. Johnson has defended Chicago’s status as a “welcoming city” for undocumented immigrants.
The hearing on Wednesday will be a major test for Mr. Johnson, who until his election in 2023 held a relatively low-profile seat as a county commissioner. His time as mayor has had bright spots, including reductions in the homicide rate. But he has not fully sold residents or City Council members on his vision for Chicago, and he has often struggled to turn his priorities into policy.
On immigration, though, he has not wavered.
“Our song of unity won’t change because who’s in the White House,” Mr. Johnson said last week.
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