Eric Adams to testify before House Oversight Committee on 'sanctuary cities'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is set to testify next month at a House Oversight Committee hearing on sanctuary cities, his office confirmed Wednesday.

Adams will appear alongside fellow Democratic mayors Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Michelle Wu of Boston and Mike Johnston of Denver, according to Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who announced March 5 as the date for the hearing.

Comer said Wednesday that the four mayors have all confirmed their attendance. Johnson confirmed in a statement that he will appear before the committee. The Hill has reached out to Wu’s and Johnston’s offices for confirmation.

“Sanctuary mayors have prioritized criminal illegal aliens over the American people. They owe Americans an explanation for their policies that jeopardize public safety and violate federal immigration law by releasing dangerous criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets,” Comer said in a social media post.

“We will press these mayors for answers and examine measures to enforce compliance with federal immigration law,” Comer added.

Adams, a centrist Democrat, has pledged to work with the Trump administration to enhance immigration enforcement. He has also criticized the city’s sanctuary city laws but has said he would enforce the laws in place.

"Mayor Adams has been clear that New York City is committed to working with our federal partners to fix our broken immigration system and focus on the small number of people who are entering our localities and committing violent crimes,” the mayor’s press secretary, Kayla Mamelak Altus, said in an emailed statement.

“We have been in communication with the Congressional Oversight Committee on their questions around immigration enforcement, and we look forward to speaking with them on March 5,” she continued.

Adams has taken steps to make clear he is ready to work with the new administration. He met with Trump shortly before his inauguration and with his handpicked “border czar” in December. He said at a press conference afterward that the two men have the same immigration goals.

“His goal is the same goal I have,” Adams said during a press conference after the December meeting, which Adams requested. “We cannot allow dangerous individuals to commit repeated … acts of violence in our cities across America.”

Adams said the city would protect the rights of immigrants who are “hardworking, giving back to the city in a real way,” but he said, “this can’t be a safe haven for violent individuals.”