Democrat Governors Tim Walz of Minnesota, J. B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Kathy Hochul of New York testified before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee last week, defending their states’ sanctuary policies amid growing scrutiny over their impact on public safety. While the hearing produced plenty of political theater, it was also a sad spectacle of gaslighting and deflection of accountability, revealing the twisted sanctuary ideology that is still prevalent throughout the country.

Sanctuary policies, which restrict local law enforcement from cooperating fully with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), are often framed as compassionate measures to protect illegal aliens. This is partisan political spin detached from reality. By limiting cooperation with federal authorities, these policies create safe havens for individuals who have entered the country illegally and, in many cases, commit violent crimes.

The governors’ insistence that their policies promote safety rings hollow when we consider the victims—innocent people like Laken Riley, a University of Georgia student brutally murdered in 2024 by an illegal alien with a criminal history. Riley’s death, and too many other deaths like it, are in direct consequence of the reckless sanctuary policies these governors champion.

During their testimonies, Walz, Pritzker, and Hochul repeatedly claimed their states cooperate with ICE when presented with a criminal warrant. This assertion is misleading, as the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) does not require a criminal warrant for local authorities to honor ICE detainers. The U.S. Constitution establishes that the federal Constitution takes precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions. By implementing policies that limit cooperation unless a judicial warrant is presented, these governors are effectively violating federal law. Their claim of cooperation is a convenient half-truth, designed to deflect accountability while they obstruct ICE’s effectiveness to detain and deport individuals who pose a threat to public safety.

The INA is clear that immigration authorities have the right to arrest removable aliens, and the U.S. Constitution is clear that states and localities must not impede federal immigration enforcement. Yet, sanctuary policies do exactly that. In Minnesota, for example, while Governor Walz denied that his state is a sanctuary jurisdiction, cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul restrict police and city employees from assisting ICE unless a criminal warrant is issued.

Similarly, the Trust Act in Illinois, signed into law in 2017, prohibits local authorities from detaining individuals solely based on immigration status, even when ICE issues a detainer. These policies create a patchwork of non-compliance that undermines the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws, leaving communities vulnerable to preventable crimes.

The Laken Riley Act passed in January 2025 was a direct response to these failures, mandating the detention of noncitizens charged with certain crimes, including theft and assault, and empowering states to sue the federal government if paroled aliens commit crimes. Yet, even in the face of such federal legislation, these governors cling to their sanctuary policies, pledging their fealty to a system that has repeatedly failed victims like Riley.

The hypocrisy of these governors lies in their refusal to acknowledge the link between their policies and the preventable loss of life. They try to sound responsible by pronouncing that aliens who commit violent crimes should be deported. However, this is too little, too late. At that point, an innocent person has already been assaulted or killed. What is stopping these governors from applying common sense and simply removing anyone who is here illegally? The answer is their dogmatic obedience to an anti-borders ideology that prioritizes the wishes of illegal aliens over both the wishes and the safety of American citizens.    

It is time to end the charade. Sanctuary policies do not make communities safer; they create dangerous loopholes that allow criminals to evade justice. The governors’ testimony on Capitol Hill was a masterclass in deflection, cloaking their defiance of federal law in the language of compassion.

But compassion for whom? Certainly not for the families of people like Laken Riley or the countless others who have paid the ultimate price for these failed policies. If these governors truly cared about safety, they would dismantle their sanctuary policies, fully cooperate with ICE, and prioritize the lives of their citizens over political posturing.

The American people deserve better. We cannot afford another decade of sanctuary policies that violate the law and cost innocent lives. The blood of victims like Laken Riley stain the hands of those who choose ideology over safety. It is time for change—before more lives are lost to this dangerous hypocrisy.