The Republican Congresswoman has said that she will refer the Democratic Sanctuary City Mayors, who appeared before Congress Wednesday, for criminal charges.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said the mayors testifying during a House Oversight Committee Hearing on Sanctuary Cities were violating Title 8, U.S. Code SS1324, a Federal Law that makes it illegal to harbor and bring in unauthorized aliens. The law also bans the illegal employment of foreigners.
Luna announced on X that she had referred sanctuary city mayors for criminal investigations based upon evidence from their comments and policies. This proved they broke federal law.
Open borders hurt people from both sides. The DOJ will criminally investigate you if you are a federal official and break the law.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu all defended their respective cities’ sanctuary policies at the fiery hearing. They defended their communities as welcoming and called on Congress to pass immigration reform.
Republican members of Congress have criticized the mayors’ policies of sanctuary cities, accusing them of endangering Americans. They also threatened local officials with prosecution.
Luna warned the mayors about their policy, saying that it hurts both citizens and migrants.
Luna: “I don’t think that you people are bad, but you are misled ideologically,” she said.
She said that based on her responses, she would be referring all of them to the Department of Justice to conduct an investigation.
As soon as I depart, they will go to Pam Bondi (Attorney-General).
The DOJ is not required to prosecute a criminal case if a congressional referral has been made. It also does not carry the same weight as referrals from a whole chamber.
The mayors claimed that Republicans were trying to portray their cities as being overrun with criminal immigrants, even though crime rates are falling. Mayors say that creating safe cities is the key to ensuring safety. Residents should feel confident in reporting crimes and collaborating with the police.
Trump made illegal immigration a central theme of his presidential campaign. He has continued to emphasize the issue since taking office. In a speech to Congress on Tuesday, he promised to complete “the largest deportation operations in American history.”
Luna is a House Freedom Caucus member and also heads the House Oversight Committee Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets. This new task force focuses on the declassification of Federal Secrets, including documents related to the murders of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy.
She also pressed the Justice Department to release classified documents related to sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.